"COPPER": Top Five Favorite Season One (2012) Episodes

 

Below is a list of my top five favorite episodes from Season One of the BBC America series "COPPER". Created by Tom Fontana and Will Rokos, the series stars Tom Weston-Jones, Kyle Schmid and Ato Essandoh:




"COPPER": TOP FIVE FAVORITE SEASON ONE (2012) EPISODES



1. (1.02) "Husbands and Fathers" - In this brutal episode, New York City detective Kevin "Corky" Corcoran set about rescuing child prostitute/abused wife Annie Sullivan from a Manhattan brothel and her perverse customer, a wealthy businessman named Winifred Haverford.





2. (1.09) "A Day to Give Thanks" - Following the reappearance of his missing wife Ellen in an asylum, Corky tracks down her former lover in order to learn what really happened to their dead daughter, while he was in the Army. Meanwhile, Confederate agents blackmail Robert Morehouse's wealthy father into helping their plot to set New York City on fire, following the re-election of Abraham Lincoln.





3. (1.06) "Arsenic and Old Cake" - Corky investigate the death of the dentist of one of his men, who died by arsenic poisoning. Widow Elizabeth Haverford tries to discipline an unruly Annie and return the latter to her abusive husband, a Mr. Reilly. An exhibition boxing match between a young African-American and an Irish-American local politician end with racial tension.





4. (1.03) "In the Hands of an Angry God" - Corky investigates the death of a notoriously racist Irish immigrant and clashes with his African-American friend, Dr. Matthew Freeman when a local black minister becomes the prime suspect.





5. (1.07) "The Hudson River School" - Annie struggles with escape from the abusive Mr. Reilly. Elizabeth turns to Robert, when Corky reacts violently to the news that she had turned Annie over to Mr. Reilly.

"THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES" (1990) Photo Gallery

 

Below are images from "THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES", the 1990 television adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1920 novel. The movie starred David Suchet as Hercule Poirot:

"THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES" (1990) Photo Gallery

 The Department of Afro American Research, Arts and Culture (daaracarchive.org)

"CHARMED" RETROSPECT: (6.11) "Witchstock"

 

"CHARMED" RETROSPECT: (6.11) "Witchstock"

During its eight season run, the fantasy-drama "CHARMED" has occasionally featured an episode dealing with the topic of time travel. These time travel episodes usually prove to be well-written or exceptional. However, there comes a time when the series produced a time travel episode that end up being a dud. The series' Season Six episode, (6.11) "Witchstock" proved to be the latter.

Directed by James A. Contner and written by Daniel Cerone, "Witchstock" begins at least a month or two following the first-rate (6.10) "Chris-Crossed". At the end of the previous episode, oldest sister Piper Halliwell had suggested that younger sister Phoebe and even younger half-sister Paige Matthews leave the family's manor to pursue their romantic desires. Phoebe left San Francisco to live with her boyfriend, the very wealthy Jason Dean, in Hong Kong. And Paige left the manor to live with her own wealthy boyfriend, a male witch named Richard Montana. However, the sisters' separation proves to be a little problematic, since they have to deal with a magic-sucking slime found inside a local warehouse. Their new whitelighter from the future Chris Perry (in reality Halliwell) manages to bring Phoebe back from Hong Kong to vanquish the slime but was not able to find Paige. Piper and Phoebe achieve their mission . . . somewhat. A piece of the slime manages to attach itself to Chris, and the latter inadvertently transport it back to the Manor.

When Paige shows up, she explains that she tried to leave Richard's manor without teleporting, due to his addiction to magic. During this conversation, Piper finds a pair of red go-go boots that once belonged to their grandmother, Penelope Johnson Halliwell. She gives them to Paige, who tries them on. Seconds later, Paige finds herself transported back to January 1967, due to the spell her grandmother had put on the boots. She also discovers that both her grandmother and grandfather (Jack or Allen Halliwell) were peace-loving hippies on a crusade to rid the world of evil through the magical power of love. They had also transformed the manor into a "magical be-in", unaware that one of their guests is a warlock. Meanwhile, Piper and Phoebe summon the ghost of their now dead grandmother to explain what happened. Grams informs them about her past as a hippie and the tragic circumstances that led to her first husband's death at the hands of a warlock. Piper and Phoebe realize they have to travel back to 1967 and prevent Paige from inadvertently changing the past. Meanwhile, Grams helps Chris and Piper's ex, former whitelighter-turned-Elder Leo Wyatt deal with the demonic slime that threatens to take over the manor.

Sounds exciting, right? I wish I could say that "Witchstock" was exciting. In the end, the episode proved to be a piece of crap. First of all, screenwriter Daniel Cerone failed to make any real connection between the demonic slime first introduced in the pre-titled sequence and Paige's initial trip back to the Age of Aquarius. The main villains of the episode - two warlocks portrayed by Jake Busey and Kam Heskin - proved to be rather lame. The demonic sponge featured in the early 21st century scenes proved to be even more lame. In fact, the demonic sponge reminded me of the lame electrical demon that the sisters had vanquished in Season Four's (4.07) "A Knight to Remember". Talk about lack of originality.

Cerone also failed to create any real emotional connection between the sisters - especially newbie Paige - and their grandparents. The sisters seemed flabbergasted by Penny Halliwell's hippie persona, which was a far cry from the militant demon hunter who raised Piper, Phoebe and the now dead Prue. The episode had a chance for Paige to really get to know her grandparents - especially her grandmother - and it failed on all counts. Piper turned out to be the only sister who witnessed their grandfather's death. Yet, she reacted with very little or hardly any emotion. I realize that she had never met her grandfather during her lifetime. But the man was blood. The family carried his surname. Holly Marie Combs could have expressed some emotion . . . some sadness over the passing of her character's flesh-and-blood. Unfortunately, that never happened. Cerone's script was too busy treating the hippie personas of Penny, husband Allen (or Jack), and whitelighter Leo as jokes. Watching 1967 Leo act high and hit on Paige was embarrassing to watch. I felt sorry for Brian Krause in these scenes. I also felt sorry for Dorian Gregory, who was forced to portray Black Panther Luther Morris, who not only found himself in the same jail cell as Piper and Phoebe in a very cringe worthy scene; but also turned out to be the father of the Halliwells' police detective friend, Darryl Morris.

The worst aspect of "Witchstock" proved to be the mistakes that heavily tainted this episode. In one early scene, Phoebe, who had become fascinated with Chinese astrology, informed younger sister Paige that the latter was born in the year of the Ox. WRONG! Paige was born in early August 1977, which meant she was born in the year of the Snake. The screenwriter could have easily looked this up . . . or else he failed to remember that Paige was born in 1977, not 1973. Also, Grams should have been portrayed by an actress old enough to pass for a woman in her mid-30s. This episode was set in January 1967. Which meant that Grams should have been 35 or 36 at the time. After all, her daughter Patty was born in 1950. And the episode was set three to four years before the birth of the latter's oldest daughter, Prue. Actress Kara Zediker, who portrayed the younger Grams, barely looked 30 years old. And I find the idea of a mid-30s Grams and her slightly older husband as hippies. Perhaps there were hippies from their generation. But their fellow witches all seemed to be five to fifteen years younger. Worse, you can hear Rare Earth's version of "Get Ready" being played in the background in one of the earlier 1967 scenes. This should be difficult, considering that Rare Earth's version of the song was released in 1969 . . . over two years after the setting of this episode. The latter should have featured the Temptations' 1966 version . . . or another song from 1966/67.

Was there anything about "Witchstock" that I liked? Well . . . thanks to Rose McGowan, I found Paige's initial reaction to the "Manor of Love" rather amusing and managed to chuckle at her handling of a womanizing Leo. Despite my dislike of the Penelope Halliwell character, Jennifer Rhodes injected a breath of fresh air into the episode. She also managed to create a nice chemistry with both Brian Krause and Drew Fuller; as Grams, Leo and Chris dealt with the demonic sponge. And Holly Marie Combs had a nice moment of personal angst for Piper, who silently lamented over her sisters' departure and her new-founded loneliness.

But despite these positive little moments, "Witchstock" was a disaster to me. Was it the worse "CHARMED" episode I have ever seen? Fortunately for director James A. Contner and screenwriter Daniel Cerone, my answer is no. I have seen worse from earlier seasons. And all I have to do is watch the series' Season Eight. There were plenty of horrors from that season to form a list of the series' worst episodes. But "Witchstock" was not a pleasure to watch. Not by a long shot.

"SENSE AND SENSIBILITY" (1971) Review

 

"SENSE AND SENSIBILITY" (1971) Review

For some reason, I still find it hard to believe that until recently, very few people were aware that the first adaptation of Jane Austen's 1811 novel, "Sense and Sensibility", dated as far back as 1971. After all, people have been aware of other Austen adaptations during this same period or earlier. Even the Wikipedia site fails to mention it, except in connection with one of the cast members. What was about this four-part miniseries that eluded so many Austen fans?

In "SENSE AND SENSIBILITY", a wealthy landowner named Mr. Dashwood dies, leaving his two daughters and second wife at the mercy of his son by his first marriage, thanks to the rules of inheritance. When the son fails to financially help his sisters and stepmother, the trio are forced to live at a meager cottage, thanks to the generosity of Mrs. Dashwood's cousin. The miniseries follows the love lives of the sisters, while they deal with their new penniless status.

I could have went into greater detail about Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. But what would have been the point? Austen's novel and the other adaptations have made both their story and characters well known to fans. Everyone knows that the Dashwood sisters' penniless state have made them undesirable as potential mates among the English upper-class. And many know that Elinor Dashwood is the older and more sensible sister, who kept her emotions suppressed behind a facade of stoic behavior. They also know that Marianne is the younger sisters, whose romantic enthusiasm led to emotional excesses and irrational behavior. Was there something unique about this adaptation of Austen's novel? Hmmm. Other than it was probably the first version of the 1811 novel and the first of four versions to exclude the character of the youngest Dashwood sister, Margaret.

Overall, I believe that "SENSE AND SENSIBILITY" turned out to be an entertaining and well-paced television miniseries. But it was not perfect. One, I felt that screenwriter Denis Constanduros made a few missteps in his adaptation. I wish that Constanduros had included a scene featuring John Dashwood's last conversation with his dying father. I felt that his eventually betrayal of his promise, due to his wife's capriciousness would have possessed more bite. I also felt that Constanduros could have included more scenes featuring Marianne and John Willoughy's courtship. The period between their first meeting and Willoughby's decision to end their romance seemed to go by in a flash. It happened too soon for me to understand Marianne's grief over his rejection of her. Although there were a good deal of exterior shots of the English countryside, I wish there had been more exterior shots of early 19th century London, during the sisters' trip. The London sequences made the miniseries feel more like a filmed play. And why on earth did Constanduros allowed Elinor to pay a visit to Edward Ferrars' London rooms alone? What was he thinking? He should have allowed Elinor to summon Edward to Mrs. Jennings' home in order to deliver Colonel Brandon's news about a new job. I have one last major problem. Why on earth did costume designer had Elinor and Marianne wearing identical traveling outfits? They were not twin sisters. And no siblings from an upper-class family - especially of the female gender - would be caught dead in this manner:



What was costumer designer Charles Knode thinking?

I also had some problems with the casting and performances. I had a real problem with actress Ciaran Madden's performance as Marianne Dashwood. How can I put it? It was over-the-top. I realize that she was at least 25 years old at the time this production was filmed. But did she and director David Giles really thought an exaggerated performance was necessary to portray the emotional 17-year-old Marianne? Was that their idea of portraying an emotional adolescent? And why would actor Michael Alderidge use a strong, regional accent for his portrayal of Sir John Middleton? I realize that his mother-in-law and wife came from a middle-class background. But Sir John and his cousin Mrs. Dashwood, did not. Both actresses who portrayed the Steele sisters - Frances Cuka and Maggie Jones - seemed at least a decade-and-a-half too old for their roles. And Kay Gallie's Fanny Dashwood seemed like such a major disappointment. Her Fanny struck me as too passive-aggressive and nervous in compare to the other actresses who portrayed the role.

But despite some disappointments, I must admit that "SENSE AND SENSIBILITY" turned out to be a pretty good production. Hell, I like it a lot more than I do the 1981 television version. Thanks to Constanduros's script and Giles' direction, the four-part miniseries struck me as well paced - aside from Marianne and Willoughby's courtship. Aside from the traveling outfits, I must admit that I found Knode's costume designs both colorful and elegant. And like the 1995 movie, I was happy to see that the screenplay allowed Marianne to become aware of Colonel Brandon before her meeting with Willoughby . . . allowing the pair's eventual romance in the last episode very credible.

There were also some very good performances in "SENSE AND SENSIBILITY". I found myself surprisingly impressed by Richard Owens' performance as Colonel Brandon. At first, I barely paid attention to him. But I must admit that his performance actually grew on me and I thought he did a credible job of slowly revealing Brandon's passion for Marianne. Despite his strong regional accent, I must admit that Michael Aldridge was perfectly cast as Mrs. Dashwood's gregarious cousin, Sir John Middleton. And despite her age, Frances Cuka did a very good of conveying Lucy Steele's manipulations regarding Edward, Elinor and the Ferrars family . . . even if I found it a bit obvious. I was very impressed by Milton Johns' performance as Elinor and Marianne's spineless older half-brother John Dashwood. In fact, I feel that he gave one of the better performances in the miniseries. Robin Ellis gave a solid, yet charming performance as Edward Ferrars. However, I must admit that I was not that impressed by his screen chemistry with Joanna David's Elinor. In an ARTICLE I had written about Jane Austen's rogues, I had originally stated that I found Clive Francis' portrayal of the caddish John Willoughby unmemorable. I take it back. On a second viewing, I found myself surprisingly impressed by his performance. I think I may have been distracted by the so-called Regency wig he was wearing . . . or the speed of the Marianne-Willoughby courtship. But I thought Francis, who went on to co-star with Ellis in the "POLDARK" series a few years later, gave a very complex and satisfying performance.

But there were two performances in "SENSE AND SENSIBILITY" that I found outstanding. One of them belonged to Joanna David, who was perfect - well . . . almost - as Elinor Dashwood. She was one of the few performers who managed to restrain from "playing to the second balcony" as many other stage-trained actors tend to do. Mind you, there were moments when she seemed incapable of projecting Elinor's passionate nature behind the sensible facade. But more than any other person in the cast, she did a superb job in carrying the miniseries on her shoulders. The other outstanding performance turned out to be Patricia Rutledge's portrayal of the vivacious Mrs. Jennings, Sir John's mother-in-law. She was in her early 40s at the time and technically, too young for the role. But I cannot deny that Rutledge seemed like the very personification of the verbose and interfering, yet warm-hearted widow. Of the four Mrs. Jennings I have seen, only Elizabeth Spriggs from the 1995 movie seemed her equal.

"SENSE AND SENSIBILITY" is not the best adaptation of Jane Austen's 1811 novel, despite being the first. And it possessed certain aspects in both the script and casting that I found questionable. But thanks to David Giles' direction, Denis Constanduros' screenplay, and superb performances especially from Joanna David and Patricia Rutledge; I feel that it turned out to be a pretty damn good adaptation in the end. I would highly recommend it.

"NORTH AND SOUTH" (1975) Photo Gallery

 

Below are images from "NORTH AND SOUTH", the 1975 BBC adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's 1855 novel. Directed by Rodney Bennett, the four-part miniseries starred Rosalie Shanks and Patrick Stewart:




"NORTH AND SOUTH" (1975) Photo Gallery

Favorite Movies and Miniseries About 19th Century Journeys

 

Below is a list of my ten (10) favorite movies and miniseries about long distance journeys during the 19th century:




FAVORITE MOVIES AND MINISERIES ABOUT 19TH CENTURY JOURNEYS



1. "The Chisholms" (1979) - Robert Preston, Rosemary Harris and Ben Murphy starred in this television miniseries adaptation of Evan Hunter's novel about a Virginia family's trek to California in the mid-1840s.





2. "Lonesome Dove" (1989) - Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones starred in this acclaimed, four-part miniseries about two former Texas Rangers who lead a cattle drive from Texas to Montana. Based upon Larry McMurty's novel, the miniseries co-starred Robert Urich, Diane Lane, Danny Glover, Chris Cooper and Anjelica Huston.





3. "Around the World in 80 Days" (1989) - Pierce Brosnan starred as Phineas Fogg, a British gentleman who takes a trip around the world in eighty days, due to a bet. Eric Idle, Julia Nickson and Peter Ustinov co-starred in this fun, three-part miniseries, based upon Jules Verne's novel.





4. "King Solomon's Mines" (1950) - Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr and Richard Carlson starred in my favorite adaptation of H. Rider Haggard's novel about a British hunter hired to help find a missing Englishman searching for the legendary King Solomon's mines in 1890's East Africa. The movie earned a Best Picture Academy Award.





5. "Race to Freedom: The Underground Railroad" (1994) - Courtney B. Vance and Janet Bailey starred as a pair of North Carolina slaves who embark upon a journey for Canada and freedom.





6. "Cold Mountain" (2003) - Anthony Minghella directed this superb adaptation of Charles Fraizer's novel about a wounded Confederate soldier who deserts and embarks upon a long journey to return to his sweetheart. Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Oscar winner Renée Zellweger starred.






7. "Westward the Women" (1951) - William Wellman directed this fascinating tale about a trail boss that leads a group of "mail-order brides" from Missouri to California in 1851. Robert Taylor and Denise Darcel starred.





8. "Hidalgo" (2004) - Viggo Mortensen starred in this Disney adventure about 19th century distance rider, Frank Hopkins, his mustang Hidalgo, and their participation in the Ocean of Fire long-distance race across the Nadj Desert. Omar Sharif and Zuleikha Robinson co-starred.





9. "The Journey of August King" (1995) - Jason Patric and Thandie Newton starred in this adaptation of John Ehle's novel about a North Carolina farmer on his way home from market in 1815, who helps a runaway slave evade her master. Excellent story.





10. "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates" (1956) - This adventure conveyed the experiences of Davy Crockett and George Russel with keelboat riverman Mike Fink and river pirates along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Picturesque and a lot of fun. Fess Parker, Buddy Ebsen and Jeff York starred.