tv series

My original reaction to this series was acerbic (see below). But now that I have watched all 4 seasons of The Tudors, I believe it’s worth sticking it out. It grows on you. The characters grow deeper and more complex. I actually learned a lot about the period, especially what turns out to be the very significant religious clashes of the time. The series does well in showing how each queen made her mark in history. So despite my original review, I’ve decided it’s worth some eye rolling to see the history of King Henry VII’s reign come alive.

Original Review:

Although I’m a fan of many of the

Originally airing in 1998-1999, Cowboy Bebop is widely regarded as an essential part of anime canon, with very good reason.  The story of a group of down-on-their-luck bounty hunters in a gritty version of the future is a mixture of hilarity and tragedy, and worth a watch from almost anyone.

The show begins with Spike Spiegel and his partner, both bounty hunters—dubbed cowboys—on their spaceship, the Bebop (hence the title of the show), in their perpetual search for a new bounty to collect to keep their ship running and food on the table.  Spike prophetically declares that he hates working

Much has been made of this show, more than a decade old and canceled before it even finished its first season.

With good reason.

Even suffering from executive meddling, where the episodes were aired out of order and the time slot randomly changed without notice, Firefly built a die-hard group of fans.  They even leveraged their passion into a movie to wrap up the loose ends.  Why are the Browncoats so fanatical?

To start with, the show is written by Joss Whedon—fresh off his Buffy the Vampire Slayer run—and features every bit of the sharp wit and clever mixture of humor and horror that he's

These poignant and lightly humorous episodes are based on Jennifer Worth’s memoirs about midwifery in East London in the 1950's.  The nurses and nuns that run Nonnatus House are well developed, and I especially adore nurse Chummy Browne’s fish out of water storylines.   Sister Monica Jean’s aging-but -still -feisty storyline is also very affecting.  The plots of some of the episodes can get a little heavy since we are dealing with 1950’s obstetrics and gynecology, so be prepared for  messy births, unhealthy mothers and children, and frank discussion of Catholicism vs. birth control.   I

The BBC America series Orphan Black is about...well, it's difficult to say what it's about without giving away spoilers. The first episode opens with a young, streetwise grifter named Sarah arriving at a train station, where she witnesses another woman folding her clothes carefully on the platform and taking off her shoes. The woman turns, looks at Sarah...and Sarah sees her own face looking back at her. Then the identical woman walks in front of an oncoming train to her death. Sarah steals the woman's purse and clothes, gets her name and address from her ID, and decides to sneak into this

Great Caesar's ghost! I missed this series when it aired on ABC Family in 2008. Heck, I'd never even heard of it until a couple of weeks ago when I randomly stumbled across it. And boy, am I glad I did!

The Middleman (his real name is never given in the series) is the agent of an organization so secret, even he doesn't know who he works for. He's charged with saving the world from all kinds of amazing threats: alien invasions, mad scientists, zombies, ghosts, vampires, and super-intelligent gorillas. When he destroys a giant, tentacled beast and saves completely unfazed receptionist (and post

British television is fashionable nowadays. Downton Abbey, Sherlock, and Doctor Who exemplify the latest trend in Trans-Atlantic entertainment. But before BBC America went gangbusters, there were several British comedies from the late 90s and early 00s that have since either created American spin-offs (The Office) or spawned solid film careers for British actors and writers. The latter is true for Simon Pegg, one of the creators and actors of the show Spaced. Not only has he endeared himself to American sci-fi fans as Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott in J.J. Abrams’ reboot of the Star

Ok. I admit it. I am addicted. I was pretty skeptical when ABC Family announced that they were going to make a TV show out of one of my favorite 90's movies. I was ready to hate it. I almost didn't watch the premier. But somehow I ended sitting in front of my TV at 7pm on July 7th tuning into ABC Family. And even more unbelievable is that I liked it!I was ready to hate all the characters. Who could play Kat better than Julia Stiles, who could be Patrick Verona except the talented Heath Ledger? Lindsey Shaw does a great job playing a Kat who is both strong and lovingly stupid at times, Ethan