Day: May 6, 2023

“Bridgerton” prequel: some greatness, then very-goodness

In its first hour, the “Bridgerton” prequel seems ready to be a really great show.
It soon retreats into merely being a very good one; it insists on emphasizing – and even expanding — a crisis from history. But that opening hour is a gem.
“Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” (shown here) is a six-parter that arrived recently on Netflix. It maintains the lush look and vivid characters, while jumping between two timelines.
There’s the one we know from the first two “Bridgerton” seasons: King George, descended into madness, is mostly invisible; his wife Charlotte is the unflinching, unsmiling ruler. And there’s this prequel time, when she was 17, heading to marry a king she’d never met. That’s the part that produced three amazing scenes in the first hour: Read more…

Golden glimpses can be fun

Having now seen the past two British coronations on TV, I can assure you: The one today (Charles III) was way better than the previous one (his mom). That might be because:
— I was way too young to appreciate the previous one. Once I realized that none of those swords were going to be put to productive use, my interest waned.
— The telecast was better this time. In particular, it was in color.
At various points, Charles was on a golden carpet (ahown here) … was wearing a golden robe … and was being taken away in a golden carriage. Watching all of that gold, one thought persisted: Donald Trump must be quivering with jealousy. Read more…

Best-bets for May 8: a new “Jeopardy” and a 25-year movie

1) “Independent Lens: Sam Now,” 10 p.m., PBS. Reed Harkness used to make goofy movies, with his half-brother Sam as a superhero. Then he suggested something bigger – trying to find the mother who had vanished when Sam was in his early teens. The resulting film – sort of 25 years in the making – tells a remarkable story, with a deep empathy for Sam (shown here) and mom.
Read more…