THE NOT-SO-GREAT ESCAPE

One of the major television events of this century played out this past week in front of nearly seventy million Americans. The reactions were varied and ranged from celebration to feeling the need to bathe. Whatever side you may root for… no matter who your candidate may be… one thing was clear: it was great TV.

The nation’s political passions are at fever pitch. Never before has one of the two major candidates for President been on the political scene for such a long time, both as a candidate and a national celebrity. Never before has our nation been so polarized. The prospect, that no matter how the election goes in November, there will be tens of millions of deeply unhappy Americans in America is, to say the very least, daunting.

There is a chilling final moment in the movie The Ugly American where, facing a similar kind of awful, uncomfortable truth on a television screen, the hand of an unseen TV viewer appears and changes the channel.

That is what I am doing now. Taking the coward’s way out and, at least for this moment, escaping from reality by way of letting you know what else is going on via your television screen.

Dark Matter is a limited series out of Apple TV+ that is a long way from everyone’s cup of chowder, but it is good and should satisfy many a science-fiction buff as well as most of the psychological thriller crowd.

On some levels I found Dark Matter reminiscent of Orphan Black, but in reality, it does not measure up to that outstanding show, lacking the wit and wisdom not only of that series, but also missing the Academy Award winning Tatiana Maslany’s performance(s).

That said, there are few shows that can ever come up to the standard set by the Orphan Black gang and it is no shame to, Icarus-like, make that attempt.

Dark Matter does work on many levels, so its failures tend to stand out… one such mistake being the “explanation” of the universe in which the show’s action takes place. At times, the viewer gets the feeling that the whole thing is being made up as it goes along and that the “rules” can be bent when necessary to extricate the writers from any corner in which they have painted themselves.

Even with that caveat, Dark Matter delivers more than enough suspense to satisfy most. The series pretty much works and I recommend it.

For the less demanding there is Expats on Amazon Prime, Under The Bridge (Hulu) and Shogun, also on Hulu. All three shows have some literary credentials (some easier to discern in their television adaptations than others), and all have some merit. That said, I found them all to be overblown and overlong and their cast of actors less than compelling even though their numbers include Nicole Kidman (Expats), Lily Gladstone (Bridge), and Archie Panjabi (Bridge). I would argue that Shogun is the most disappointing of this trio, but many professional critics seem not to share that view.

A last-minute entry for this column (with 11 Emmy award nominations) is Baby Reindeer (Netflix). This is tough stuff, beautifully and brutally delivered. Richard Gadd lived it, wrote about it, and plays the leading role. Jessica Gunning, the female lead is real, powerful, and impressive. Definitely not for everyone, yet I would not be surprised to see this sweep up most of the awards for which it has been nominated.

Mr Bates Vs The Post Office (PBS) is also excellent and, unlike Reindeer, has the advantage of being pretty much for anyone. Like Reindeer, it is based on a true story. The performances by the all-UK cast are uniformly excellent. It is another of the PBS Masterpiece presentations and is a worthy addition to that excellent series of top-notch television. All that and a double dare from this writer to the viewer not to get teary-eyed at the end.

A brief mention… and even that is more than it deserves… for The Perfect Couple. It is another Netflix miniseries starring the beautiful Nicole Kidman as well as an equally beautiful beach house that is supposed to be on Nantucket but is not. This piece of junk (the miniseries, not the house) does not even qualify as guilty pleasure… although I did enjoy looking at that beach house… and, of course, Nicole Kidman.

Finally…. Kaos on Netflix. I found it unwatchable, but then I could not stand Schitt’s Creek and can only occasionally get through a film by Wes Anderson. Simply put: just not my thing… with the understanding/concession that you, like so many others, just may like this.

The Emmy awards are coming up on the 15^th of this month and, due to the number of shows that accumulated during the various Hollywood Guild strikes, there are an inordinate number of quality shows and performances worthy of recognition this cycle. If you are watching/wagering, keep your eye out for multiple awards for The Morning Show, Fargo, Bear, Hacks, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Ripley, Lessons in Chemistry, and for a couple of sentimental favorites such as Griselda and Feud: Capote vs. the Swans. I realize it is never too smart to bet against the Brits (The Crown), but I found that I have tired of the Royals, and I would not be surprised if Academy members have as well.

However the awards turn out, this year may be the most qualitative we will have for quite a while. The Industry is slowing down, not recuperating at all well from last year’s labor disputes, nor the realization that the economics of the streaming model, exploited so well by Netflix, has turned out to be far less profitable than was hoped.

With Americans adjusting to watching more and more foreign based shows, and with film libraries overflowing with materials from by-gone golden ages, there will be (at least for the foreseeable future) plenty for us all to watch until the younger generation learns how to make their own movies, simply by dictating something they think they may want to see into some not-too-far-in- the-future A-I device.

They just may have  to change the Irving Berlin tune There’s No Business Like Show Business to There’s No Business, Period. That is unless they can get Trump to agree to more TV debates.

 

Barney Rosenzweig