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Reviews
Alaska Daily (2022)
Thank you, ABC
Thank you, ABC for reminding me as to why I stopped watching network TV. You took a perfectly good show, messed around with the schedule and canceled it after a single, very short season, with the same old lame excuses. Obviously, the executives at ABC & Disney have little clue about the value of building character back stories to generate viewer interest & dedication. Disney & ABC need to develop some realistic expectations regarding new TV shows. They really should be asking themselves not why a single show has low ratings, but why do entire households no longer follow network programming? I live in a household with 4 other adults over the age of 18 and not one of us is willing to follow a show produced by the traditional networks until it has run its course and ended because it came to a natural conclusion that didn't reek of an overpaid executive's misguided devotion to junk reality TV.
Shetland: Episode #6.6 (2021)
Such a well done series.
I am keeping this review short so that the potential for spoilers is minimized.
Shetland is one of those rare series that improves with time, even if you don't see how it could. Series 6 shows once again how tangled and intertwined our lives can become. Beyond that, it's a clear demonstration of how some choose their own destiny, if only by poor judgment, while others have their destiny more or less determined for them. I must admit that I am ultimately disappointed in the actions of some of my favorite characters while happy to see that others provide a glimmer of hope for the future of the clan.
Series 7 cannot get here fast enough!
John Adams (2008)
Mixed feelings
I liked the drama but found the historical inaccuracies to be too distracting. Also, I didn't care for the fact that one scene slid right into the next and skipped forward, sometimes by years, leaving the viewers stranded on historical events that occurred in between the scenes. I get the time compression for the sake of keeping it moving along but at least they could have added a caption with the year and location when moving forward so that viewers could adapt to the continuity.
America Unearthed: The Ripper Unmasked (2019)
Not proven, but still...
While considering the information provided within the episode, the 21st century threshold of "guilt" was not met in regards to accusations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle having been Jack the Ripper, there are several pieces of strong circumstantial evidence. The end result is that even if he was the killer, Doyle undoubtedly also possessed the intelligence to assure that no physical evidence would exist in connecting him to the murders..
Sons of Liberty (2015)
Very good Drama, but very poor historical record
I've been on the fence about how to rate this work; as a dramatic series, or a historical piece? As a dramatic work it's pretty good, well acted, well written and has a strong flow to it. The series mostly introduces the audience to some of the principal drivers of the American revolution. Though as a historical work, it is rife with inaccuracies about timelines, events and even the roles that certain individuals played in these very historic events.
While the series contains many flaws, the single most unfortunate problem I observed lies within the character of Dr Joseph Warren. While Ryan Eggold is very talented actor, and does a great job within the bounds of this production, the historical record shows that the real life Dr Warren played a far more influential and galvanizing role among the patriots for liberty than what was portrayed. To the extent that the real life General Gage reportedly equated Dr Warren's death to that of 500 men, this production severely under exposed his influence and dedication to the cause.
It must be very difficult to organize a production of this sort when there are so many intricate details that are interconnected, and have been so well documented. The balance of maintaining an interesting production while staying true to the details appears to have been such a challenge that instead of providing a factual record, we're offered a fictional story based on facts. The unfortunate part is that because the History Channel broadcast the series, it provides a sense of credence that leads us to believe this is a factual story. I just hope the younger audience, and those less knowledgeable on the topic choose to become more educated about American history than what is presented within this production.