Author: stumberry

Genre: TV Series    

Grade: A-

Notable People: Jon Bernthal, Josh Charles, Jamey Hector, Dagmara Dominczyk, Wunmi Mosaku Created by: David Simon

Title: We Own This City

Review: A six-episode mini-series based on the book by Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton, this is the less titillating and more factual follow up to Simon’s “The Wire”. Hector switches sides from his Gangsta turn in The Wire to play a troubled homicide cop here. Bernthal is the clear star as the wacked out and dirty-as –can –be detective who never saw a pound of powder or a roll of bails found in a bust that he did not think was rightfully his. The show, set in the aftermath of the Freddie Gray scandal, walks a line between drama and documentary so lacks the character development and nuance of The Wire, and frankly, is not all that pleasant but it will make your head explode in thinking about the state of policing in America and on the regression in race equity that we are facing. This is filthy, filthy shit.

Genre: TV Series     

Grade: A+

Notable People: Agnes O’Casey, Rory Kinnear, Eddie Marsan, Tom Varey Created by: Sarah Solemani

Title: Ridley Road

Review: another wonderful book adaptation from PBS Masterpiece- this is a four-part miniseries focused on the post-was Fascist movement in England in the early 60s. O’Casey makes her striking debut as a sheltered British girl from Manchester, who sneaks to London for her adolescent fantasy lover and winds up deep in with her splendid Nazi-fighting Jewish uncle masquerading as a tailor (the always magnificent Marsan). It’s a frightening look at the staying power of the Nazi movement in Europe juxtaposed with the emergence of the swinging sixties in its London birthplace. Mini-skirts meets madmen. A four-part one-time series well worth a watch.   

Genre: TV Series                                                                        https://vermontrambles.com/2022/05/07/stus-reviews-641-tv-series-ben-franklin-pbs-1-season/

Grade: A+

Notable People: Bon Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Giancarlo Esposito, Rhea Seehorn Created by: Peter Gould and Vince Gilligan

Title: Better Call Saul

Review: What is there to day about the precursor to Breaking Bad, and what is likely the best show on television since The Wire. Odenkirk is pathetically wonderful in the title role and his crisis of faith are so subtle that you can miss them with a blink of an eye. Banks is the master of aging menace, Esposito is evil incarnate and the cast is a miracle. The story never ceases to shock and amaze and the dialog lulls you into sleep mode and then hits you over the head. Odenkirk’ ongoing complex and tortured transformation from Jimmy to Saul is a role for the ages. Miserably, the sixth and final season is currently underway and can be watched on AMC. It will be a divided season with half the episodes now and the reminder in the fall. Say it ain’t so, Saul!

Genre: TV Series

Grade: A-

Notable People: Ben Franklin et al Created by: Ken Burns

Title: Ben Franklin

Review: It’s hard not to be bowled over by any Burns documentary and the only slight here is that there is nothing live except a bunch of historians rambling on in present- pluperfect tense that they seem to be enamored with. Unfortunately, there are no survivors to interview for this one. Still, what a story! Franklin (with the brilliant choice of voice over from Mandy Potemkin) was a giant of his time; often believed to be the most famous man the world, from his scientific proclivities to statesmanship to his wicked sense of humor in his writings. Poor Richard’s Almanac may have been the first great piece of satire and he alternately wrote columns pretending to be an elderly preacher, an indentured slave and a cranky old widow. His creativity knew no bounds, and he may be the single person most responsible for the formation of our country and its independence from British tyranny. But, he was also enigmatically quite complex: a committed slave owner well into his last years, an absentee father and husband and a bit of a dirty old man. He discovered and became a lightning rod in all sorts of ways, and the incomparable Burns presents them all. In two- two hour segments that I recommend limiting to an hour at a time of watching-it’s a lot to absorb- but fascinating stuff.

Genre: TV Series

Grade: A

Notable People: Ansel Elgort, Odessa Young, Ken Watanabe, Sho Kasamatsu Created by: JT Rogers

Title: Tokyo Vice

Review: Wow- this is a hard one to not want to binge. Adapted from the memoir of Jake Adelstein, a young man from rural Missouri, who goes to Japan to pursue his dream of being an investigative journalist for Japans’ leading newspaper. He gets involved in all of the underbelly of Tokyo life and becomes ensnarled with the devilish ministrations of the infamous Yakusa gangs. Extraordinarily well acted, with crisp dialog and a startling sense of being encompassed by Japanese culture- half in English and half sub-titled. Elgort, Young and Kasamatsu are perfectly cast in great roles and Watanabe may be the foremost Japanese actor of his generation. I found myself bowing to people everywhere I went. The finale left you craving for more- which is likely.

Genre: TV Series  

Grade: B+

Notable People: Elodie Yung, Adan Canto, Oliver Hudson, Created by: Miranda Kwok and Darrin Star

Title: The Cleaning Lady

Review: based on the 2017 Argentinian television series La Chicca Que Limpia this is a worthy drama that centers on Thony De La Rosa (the wonderfully luminous Yung), formerly a Cambodian-Filipino medical doctor who now lives in Vegas. Her reason for being in the US on an expired visa is her five-year-old son, Luca, who has a rare and life-threatening medical disorder for which he needs a cutting-edge bone marrow treatment. Thony makes a living as a cleaning service worker. After she accidentally witnesses a murder and is discovered hiding by the perpetrator, Arman Morales (Canto), she is offered a job both as a cleaner and a doctor within their criminal organization that could pay well enough to help her son. Thony begins to live a double life, keeping secrets from her family, all the while cleaning up murder scenes and dodging the law. This has been renewed for second season on Fox.