British BODYGUARD

Article first published as TV Review: BODYGUARD on Seat42F.

Netflix recently added another British drama to its mix. A modern political thriller, BODYGUARD follows a military veteran assigned to protect a Home Secretary whose views he despises. Is this a commentary on hyper-partisanship, or a message of how we can all get along? You’ll have to watch and find out.

The first episode spends a long time introducing Sergeant David Budd (Richard Madden, Game of Thrones). We first meet him traveling on a train with his children, and we learn who he is by how he handles a suicide bomber, at odds with how law enforcement would like to resolve things. Then the show moves on to what will likely be the main plotline of the series.

I have some issues with this opening. For one, it definitely gets the audience behind Budd. That’s not necessarily a bad thing for a protagonist, but considering there seem to be two very central characters to the series, it would be nice if there was some better balance. Viewers will likely take Budd’s side in any future conflict purely because we get to see him being a hero first. Not to mention, the portrayal of other police officers on the scene is mostly playing with stereotypes and tropes, rather than reasonable, seasoned people doing their job well. By the time a second character enters who seems a little like Budd, the damage is done.

After this, we find out that Budd’s marriage has fallen apart, though even that comes off as not exactly his fault. Which is where he is when assigned to BODYGUARD The Right Honourable Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes, The Durrells in Corfu). Budd has to tamp down the things that make up his identity in order to just be the job. There’s some good drama in that, even if who he is might just be a larger than life hero.

For her part, Hawes makes Montague likeable. Her policies are quickly revealed to be extreme and at odds with Budd’s beliefs, but otherwise, despite a nasty first scene, Montague is sympathetic enough. BODYGUARD does a fine job showing the pressure she is under and the tough decisions she has to make.

Or does it? As mentioned, Budd is who we’re rooting for, so where there’s conflict, Montague is operating at a deficit. Other characters introduced have very negative opinions on Montague, too, so things just keep stacking up against her. It’s quite a testament to Hawes that she can diffuse that hate, at least for the first episode. I do wonder how things will progress with the deck this stacked.

I am being a bit negative, but mostly because I think BODYGUARD has the bones of a very good series in it. If the pilot were adjusted slightly, it could start on more sure footing, which I suspect the other five hours will have. Will audiences stick with it long enough to find out, or will they turn it off early, as I was tempted to do? I’m glad I finished the first episode out and look forward to watching the rest, but it’s a bit concerning.

As far as direction, acting, and production design, BODYGUARD is excellent. As with most dramas these days, it skews dark, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for the world it is portraying. There’s also a timeliness to it that feels important in the current political climate. It’s good to raise issues, whether they are resolved or not, and get people thinking about what freedom is worth. Putting a face on opposing viewpoints is also beneficial.

So in conclusion, the BODYGUARD is very good, almost great. Check it out on Netflix, where the entire first season is available now.

HOMECOMING Dance

Article first published as TV Review: HOMECOMING on Seat42F.

One might think it would take a unique series to lure Julia Roberts to the small screen. While crossing over from film to television is anything but uncommon these days, there are still some stars that seem too big to make the move. Well, Amazon’s HOMECOMING is definitely unique. And if you’ve forgotten just how good Roberts is, this series will remind you of that.

Roberts stars as Heidi Bergman, an administrator and counselor at Homecoming, a facility to help soldiers reintegrate into society after traumatic active duty. Heidi truly seems to want to help, though she has to balance that desire with the strict, demanding instructions of her boss, Colin Belfast (Bobby Cannavale, Ant-Man). We learn early on that whatever she intends doesn’t pan out, and four years later, she’s working as a waitress. But why? What happened?

HOMECOMING is a twisty, suspenseful tale. Most of the plot is set at the facility in 2018, with the 2022 flashforwards making up only a few minutes of each episode. The tone is that of an old Kubrick or Hitchcock drama, with bizarre directing shots to match. It feels out of time in sort of a semi-reality where you can’t trust anything you see. The paranoia is purposeful and not unique to the viewer, as at least a couple of characters share it, too. The closest thing I can compare it to on the modern landscape is Mr. Robot, which makes sense because it has the same creator, Sam Esmail. The mystery plays out slowly in a way that begs to be binged. Thankfully, Amazon dropped all ten episodes of season one at once (though I’ve only had time to view three so far).

The cast around Roberts is every bit as good as she is, pulling together a remarkable ensemble. Shea Whigham (Boardwalk Empire) is Thomas Carrasco, the man following up on a complaint about the facility in 2022, and gently nudging the spilling of secrets. Sissy Spacek (Bloodline) is Heidi’s mother, Ellen, who tells her daughter she’s lying to herself. Alex Karpovsky (Girls) is an employee at Homecoming. Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend’s Wedding) is Heidi’s boyfriend in 2018, pushed aside in favor of her work.

Then there are the patients themselves. Stephan James (Selma) plays Walter Cruz, the main patient we see and the subject of Carrasco’s inquiry. Walter seems well-adjusted, like he doesn’t belong in the program, but is happy to go along with things. He gets along well with Heidi, developing a camaraderie that is more intimate than I imagine most doctors and patients share (though completely chaste, at least three installments in).  Their bond is immediate and interesting.

The thing that interrupts Cruz’s peaceful stint is his loyalty to fellow soldier Joseph Shrier (Jeremy Allen White, Shameless). Shrier is suspect of everything Cruz takes for granted, insisting that they aren’t even in Florida. Shrier is painted as the crazy man who is probably right, though only time will tell if he’s close to the truth. More importantly, he complicates Cruz’s tenure and treatment, keeping the story quite colorful.

HOMECOMING is based off of a scripted podcast by Gimlet Media starring Catherine Keener as Heidi. Which may explain why the episodes are less than half an hour each, despite being far more drama than comedy. And it’s probably the best adaptation of a podcast I’ve seen. It takes the best elements of that format, and even without having listened (yet, though I definitely will), I can see what parts have been carried over. However, it isn’t distracting as the show also makes full use of the visual medium, seamlessly blending the two in a beautiful, near-perfect marriage.

(Disclosure: I am the creator / head writer of a long-running, scripted, serialized comedy podcast called It’s All Been Done Radio Hour, so I might be a bit more enamored with the medium than most.)

I love HOMECOMING. I think it’s a stellar effort, well done on every level, and the perfect vehicle for Roberts and the rest of the cast. Check out the whole first season on Amazon Prime streaming video.

Not Teen TITANS in new DC UNIVERSE

Article first published as TV Review: TITANS on Seat42F.

DC Universe is a new subscription service from DC Comics. Members get access to comic books, television shows, movies, and more from the company’s properties. To help gain subscribers, the service is also offering brand-new content, the first of which is a small screen drama called TITANS.

If you’re not familiar with the comic of the same name, or even the very-different animated series Teen Titans, TITANS is a group of young superheroes led by Robin, Batman’s former sidekick. There have been different versions, but this one is dark, very dark, and bloody. So adults only, please.

As we meet Dick Grayson (Brenton Thwaites, The Giver), his alter ego, Robin, hasn’t been seen in a year. Most people assume he’s dead. But really, he’s just working as a detective, recently transferred from Gotham to Detroit, Michigan. Grayson has a soft spot for battered children, possibly because of his own tragic past (his origin story is shown very briefly, and in a way that makes sense for the current story). Which leads him to Raven (Teagen Croft, Home and Away), a young girl suffering from something that looks very much like demon possession. Some very bad man are after her because of it.

There are four leads in the TITANS superhero team. I give credit to the show for not trying to rush them all together or give them equal time. Most of the pilot is focused on Grayson and Raven, first separately, then together, though not with the same amount of screen time. About halfway through, we also get a side story in Austria involving Kory Anders, a.k.a. Koriand’r, a.k.a. Starfire (Anna Diop, 24: Legacy). Except she doesn’t know any of those names, with no memory of who she is or what she is doing. Unfortunate, since, of course, there are men trying to kill her. And then the fourth member, Gar Logan / Beast Boy (Ryan Potter, Big Hero 6), is saved for just the closing scene of the episode, for a bit in Ohio. This feels more natural than most coming-togethers of super-powered teams.

It’s no surprise that TITANS’ pilot is well thought-out and cohesive. DC Universe has enlisted Greg Berlanti, creator of the CW’s DC Arrowverse, to oversee the project, alongside Fringe / Star Trek: Discovery writer / producer Akiva Goldsman and DC animated scribe Geoff Johns. These are three, well, Titans, of DC television, and it pays off to have the first effort headed up by people who already know what they’re doing.

While Marvel has dominated the film world for the past decade, DC is king of the small screen. It makes absolute sense to start developing work for their own streaming service, maybe even an integrated world, in the way Marvel has done with the movies, rather than just keeping feeding other networks. TITANS is the perfect entry point for this effort.

As for whether the price of DC Universe is worth it or not… Well, CBS All Access is my go-to example of bad pricing for a single network’s service. DC Universe is cheaper than CBS, as it’s commercial free at $7.99/month or $75/year, versus $9.99/month or $99/year (though CBS All Access offers a cheaper commercial version, whereas DC does not). However, it also looks to already have at least as much programming available as All Access, plus comics and other additions. While the library size pales in comparison to Netflix or Hulu, which are just slightly more expensive, it’s also more focused than any of the above, meaning subscribers will have more of what they want and less they’re not interested in. So yeah, I’d say it’s worth it, and despite (or because of) not having read hardly any of the comics, already purchased my year pass.

TITANS is available now exclusively on DC Universe, and releases a new episode every week.

DAREDEVIL Resurrected

Article first published as TV Review: DAREDEVIL Season 3 on Seat42F.

DAREDEVIL has returned to Netflix for a third season. The Marvel show jumped the gun by announcing round three before the character of Daredevil seemingly met his untimely end in The Defenders miniseries, thus nipping in the bud any wondering if he may have survived. So of course, Matt Murdock, the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, did make it through his near-death experience and begins to heal, even as his friends mourn his ‘passing.’

Season three takes its time getting the main cast back together, which is keeping in line with pacing from previous seasons. Foggy (Elden Henson) and Karen’s (Deborah Ann Woll) main story thus far is basically just grieving. Karen doesn’t believe Matt is gone, while Foggy is sympathetic, but doesn’t buy into her belief. Instead, he is just a good friend, supporting a pal who is working through her emotions before she can accept the truth.

Little do they know, Matt (Charlie Cox) has been brought to church, his sanctuary. Viewers are introduced to Sister Maggie Grace (Joanne Whalley, The Borgias), a nun who cared for Matt after his father’s death, and now helps him get back on his feet again. Matt is a bit slow to return to fighting form, wallowing in pity for awhile. Maggie is a force to reckon with, helpful without coddling, and it’s easy to see how she helped shape the type of person Matt has become, and can guide him now.

I do wonder how Maggie will play into Matt’s further development. She is listed as a lead for season three, so it’s likely she’s not going away, even though Matt is about ready to leave his resting place behind by the end of the first hour. I can’t imagine she’s a villain; she probably isn’t even as complex as Stick or Elekta, others from Matt’s past who have shown up to complicate things. It’s nice to have another good guy around.

Other new characters for season three include Ray Nadeem (Jay Ali, The Fosters) and Benjamin Poindexter (Wilson Bethel, Hart of Dixie). Ray is introduced in a way that clearly brings him into the Kingpin’s (Vincent D’Onofrio) orbit. The Kingpin is still in jail as the latest DAREDEVIL story gets underway, but that seems poised to change soon, bringing the major villain from season one back to the forefront. Poindexter, known better to comic fans as Bullseye, is also someone (at least on paper) frequently seen with the Kingpin, though he is MIA in “Resurrection,” the season premiere. Again, it is not unusual for DAREDEVIL to take its time getting the plot going, so this is no surprise.

While the first seasons of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage were more enticing, in my opinion, than the freshman outing of DAREDEVIL, season three already feels comfortable and familiar in a very pleasing way. Having only viewed the initial hour thus far, I’m not completely sure where this season is going. But while Sister Maggie hints at the past, there are other signs that this year will move things forward more than the last two, a satisfying development for the players.

As other Marvel series have dropped out of the Netflix lineup recently, DAREDEVIL seems poised to survive, much the way its titular hero has. It was first, and it could very well be the last one left standing. I don’t think the Netflix Marvel shows have run out of steam yet, and this first episode back seems to confirm this one has life still in it. Hopefully it puts it to good use, as early signs seem to indicate will be the case.

DAREDEVIL season three is available now exclusively to Netflix subscribers.

Not Your Average Teenage Witch

Article first published as TV Review: CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA on Seat42F.

Netflix released the first season of the highly anticipated CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA last week. Based on the recent Archie comic series of the same name, the titular character is a half mortal, half witch teenager who has come of age and is asked to sign her soul over to the Dark Lord. But Sabrina has doubts, especially when she is lied to about free will and told she must give up her human friends and boyfriend. Does she really have a choice, and why is Sabrina so important to the witch world?

This is not your (parents’?) Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Although fans of the 90s sitcom will recognize character names and broad-stroke personalities from CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA, that is pretty much where the similarities end. This is a dark, creepy, macabre version of the tale. Followers of the Dark Lord call themselves a church, but they’re closer to a cult. Actual teen witches might kill mortals for fun. Blood is used in rituals. And Satan is involved. So don’t expect to sit down with your family to watch this.

CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA looks almost flawless. Its design and setting are very artistically done, visually stunning. Special effects are top-notch. This all contributes to the purposely dreary tone. There is also a sense of fun, whimsy, and magic injected in, lest you think it’s just a dark drama. Costumes, props, the Spellman house… it is all excellently done.

My complaint here is that the picture far too often goes blurry on the edges. This is a great effect when used sparingly, but SABRINA uses it constantly. It becomes distracting and confusing. The show would play much better of 95% of this was taken out.

For tone, I recommend looking to the CW’s Riverdale, which may or may not be set in the same universe. (There is no crossover in season one, although Riverdale is mentioned as a place.) Both share a sense of sexiness and danger. Though SABRINA is louder and more extreme, with the magical element kicking things up a notch.

Most of the characters are equally good. Miranda Otto (24: Legancy) and Lucy Davis (the original The Office) are fantastic as aunties Zelda and Hilda, respectively, updating the stern and goofy bases into complex and surprising characters. Ross Lynch (Austin & Ally) plays perfect puppy dog Harvey Kinkle. Chance Perdomo (Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators) is very interesting as Sabrina’s ‘cousin’ Ambrose, confined to house arrest. Tati Gabrielle (The 100) is perfect as Prudence, leader of the Weird Sisters. Michelle Gomez, memorable in her run on Doctor Who, brings a similar performance to the teacher who inadvertently gets involved. Richard Coyle (Coupling) is awesome as high priest Father Faustus Blackwood.

Less satisfying is Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men) as Sabrina. Shipka is a talented young actress, as proven by past work, but I’m not certain her performance matches the rest of the show. At times, she feels like the strong young woman she is, standing up to authority, even her aunts, protecting her friends, and making her own way. This put-together sixteen-year-old is where Shikpa shines. But she seems less comfortable with the strange and weird. And this may be mainly a writing issue, but it’s completely strange that Sabrina doesn’t notice massive changes in her favorite teacher. I do think Shipka can grow into this role, or some adjusted direction may help. But at least initially, she’s unfortunately not as good as the show itself, not something you want from the lead.

Which is not to say that I don’t recommend CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA. It’s a compelling, creative story that is mostly well executed. I had planned to watch just one episode for this review, but felt like I had to go straight into the second. Once I submit this article, I do plan to watch the rest. There are just a few things to work on for season two for the program to make full use of its potential.

The CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA is available now on Netflix.