STAR-CROSSED

 

I spent an inordinate amount of time preparing one of those rare political blogs I sometimes write. This one took so long to compose and refine because, in my view at least, it attempted a uniquely clever approach to the near dysfunction of the Democratic party but used the Republican President’s State of the Union speech as a starting point.

As a life-long Democrat, I felt I had some credentials… let alone firsthand experiences… from which I might pontificate. And then we went to war.

Before I could hit “send” … we were bombing…with multiple reports of killing… people in Iran. More than a half dozen of our American Armed Forces were pronounced dead as well. My political piece now seemed somehow too flippant and something that might easily be interpreted as inappropriate.

I hesitated… froze, really. Then I wrote a prequel to the article, hoping to salvage the work I had already done. My prologue was all about my concerns about timing coupled with our desire as a nation to rally round the flag rather than continue discourse about discord.

The Olympics had only just completed; Americans were very united and oozing patriotism. Who am I to rain on that parade?

Prequel and article now combined, I read it… sat on it… and have come to the decision to abandon it. Timing, as is so often said in my erstwhile business, is everything.

After much time spent, my initial feeling that writing about trivial stuff such as television, when major events such as the State of the Union address are monopolizing the ether, had come to not very much.

Except:

Just maybe things are so screwed up… so ill-defined, that this might be a very good time for folks of my generation to back off, to concede any movement… right or left… to the youngsters who most likely will be doing the fighting and dying, as well as having to live their lives with the results. My age group (at least those left of us) it would appear, have, it seems, done more than enough to create the mess we are in, so perhaps… at least in my case… it is best to keep in touch by continuing to specialize in what I am seeing on television, stage, and screen… even if what I have seen is not very good.

A case in point: Stanley Tucci is an actor I have long respected and he is more than okay in the 2023 Netflix/BBC limited series Inside Man, dealing with a most unlikely murder. The whole thing is too cute by half. The good news? There are only four episodes and you could do worse… for instance, you might find yourself watching almost anything on Network TV.

Continuing off-Network, one of my favorite TV series of all-time is Justified from FX. The show, about a modern-day U.S. Marshal, produced from 2010 to 2015, had 78 episodes starring Timothy Olyphant. If you haven’t seen it, you have been deprived of a great treat. There is still time for amends. Justified is streaming these days on Hulu and it should not be missed.

Folks who follow these notes of mine know what a fan I have become of writer Taylor Sheridan… particularly on Landman starring Billy Bob Thornton. The writer is probably best known for the series Yellowstone, which while not as much “my thing” was still very good and a very big hit.

Now… on Paramount +… Marshals, a new series, and a sequel to Yellowstone, written by the very same Taylor Sheridan has come to Sunday nights.

Sorry to say this new series is not worth your time or my anticipation.

As much as I love good writing, I concede there is no substitution for good casting. It is all but impossible to measure what an actor might bring to a character on stage or screen and elevating a supporting player to a lead role is often fraught with opportunities for disappointment.

Do I need to make my point? Hello… there are plenty of bad productions of Hamlet. Let me assure you there is nothing wrong with Shakespeare’s play. The actors who occupy those costumes must deliver at their highest level to properly fulfill the evening.

And then there is chemistry… the marriage of actor and part. Loretta Swit and Meg Foster each took a turn at playing Christine Cagney opposite Tyne Daly in productions of Cagney & Lacey. Both are solid performers, but it took Sharon Gless in that role to elevate that show to becoming a hit series.

Taylor Sheridan writes great dialogue and Billy Bob Thornton knows how to deliver a line. Great combo. Now for the bad news: that just does not happen in Marshals. Not even close.

Betty Comden and Adolph Green said it best in Wonderful Town… “What a waste of money and time….”

 

Barney Rosenzweig