New Look for PERRY MASON

Article first published as TV Review: PERRY MASON on Seat42F.

HBO brought back a beloved character of literature, radio, and television this week with their new PERRY MASON show. This is a prequel story, set before the titular man becomes the defense attorney he’s been portrayed as in the past. Set in Los Angeles 1932 during the Great Depression, Perry is a noir private eye working for a lawyer and taking care of his family farm, which he should probably unload, given it boasts a mere two milk cows and is at an airport. How does the drunk absentee lawyer become a hero in the court room? Keep watching to find out.

Matthew Rhys (The Americans) stars as Perry Mason. Rhys is an extremely talented actor, as many already know. His performance in this is as impressive as it customary for him. There’s plenty to sink his teeth into for this role, as Perry is deeply troubled, mostly legitimately. His entire past isn’t revealed right away, so there are still some unanswered questions, such as why did he leave the military dishonorably? But the things we can see make him as sympathetic as he is tortured, so substantially.

Rhys is surrounded by other fine performers. John Lithgow (The Crown) is a lawyer Perry is working for named Elias Bichard Jonathan. Juliet Rylance (The Knick) is Jonathan’s more-than-capable assistant, Della Street. Shea Whigham (Boardwalk Empire) is Pete Strickland, Perry’s co-hort. Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) doesn’t show up in the premiere, but is playing a religious leader named Sister Alice that promises to be compelling. Chis Chalk (Gotham) is similarly absent from the pilot, but will be a good cop among the bad. Plus, Nate Corddry (Mom), Robert Patrick (Terminator 2), Eric Lange (Lost), and a slew of less recognizable, but no less skilled, actors join them in smaller roles.

The design, costumes, and sets are no less impressive. Every item of clothing, prop, and vehicle is beautifully recreated and sets the scene brilliantly, though we should expect no less from a big budget production like PERRY MASON. In particular in the pilot, the original Angels Flight train is recreated in its previous location. This is noir, but realistic looking noir.

As good as everything looks, a lot of the characters are total scum of the Earth. The cops we see are like a gang, more interested in lining their pockets than protecting and serving. The Hollywood execs aren’t any better, trash looking after trash with violence and threats. There are good people in this world, like Perry Mason, and they can even thrive without doing too many bad things. But they do have to exist in the muck alongside the worst of humanity, and that informs their characters, making the whole piece rather depressing.

This is where fans of the old PERRY MASON may have an issue with the new version. The old Perry was a shining beacon, while this one isn’t separate from the baddies. They are often the people he works with and for.

The biggest obstacle, though, might be just how disturbing some of the visuals can be. I’m no stranger to violence and gore, and who can be in today’s prestige television landscape? But PERRY MASON finds new depths in a single hour. A dead baby, rendered in stomach-churning detail, is only briefly on screen, and yet it feels like too long. I won’t go into anything further, but if child violence is a trigger for you, steer clear of this show. And even if it isn’t, it’s extremely hard not to be affected by its portrayal here.

Is the world ready for a gritty PERRY MASON? Will subsequent seasons grow him into someone a bit cleaner, or is this destined to be a one-off miniseries experiment? Either way, it’s a very well-made, well-acted series, and unless they do worse than the baby, I’ll be tuning in to see how it turns out.

PERRY MASON airs Sundays at 9PM on HBO.

Return to THE KNICK

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: 'The Knick - The Complete Second Season' on Blogcritics.

I don’t have a high opinion of shows on Cinemax in general. I find them too bloody, too action-oriented, lacking character and plot depth. There is an exception to that rule, however, and that is the excellent drama The Knick, the second season of which will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on August 2nd (It is already available digitally).

The Knick is from the great Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, The Girlfriend Experience), and takes place at a New York City hospital known as The Knickerbocker, which actually existed, though the version in the show is fictionalized quite a bit. Set more than a century ago, the program follows Dr. John Thackery (Clive Owen, Children of Men), a genius of a man who struggles with a cocaine and opium addiction, and his co-workers at the facility. Far from the soapy drama of Grey’s Anatomy, the period drama is intense, engaging, and is a little bit informative about a bygone era, even though it is not, nor does it pretend to be, a true story.

Season two opens amid much strife. Those who watched the first year will recall (spoiler alert!) that The Knick itself has been shut down, Thackery hospitalized due to his substance abuse issue, and the hospital in dire financial straits, lacking backing from those with means who could keep its doors open. Contributing in no small part is the mismanagement of money by hospital manager Herman Barrow (Jeremy Bobb, The Wolf of Wall Street), who is indebted to the mob. Instead, a plan moves forward to construct a brand-new building uptown, and this in of itself allows for plenty of conflict, as greed and corruption enter into the proceedings.

The staff itself is undergoing no less an upheaval. An early front-runner to succeed Thackery is his temporary replacement, Dr. Algernon Edwards (Andre Holland, Selma, 1600 Penn), though his path is not without his challenges, not least of which includes the color of his skin. Of course, it is no surprise when Thackery returns, but is he in any shape to take his job back, or should it pass on to his assistant?

Amid this, there is plenty of suspense around abortions, retinal reattachment, eugenics, divorce, a subway explosion, conjoined twins, hypnotism, blackface, blackmail, and more.  You cannot say the ten hours contained in this set are boring. With a terrific ensemble cast that includes Eve Hewson (Bridge of Spies), Juliet Rylance (American Gothic), Eric Johnson (Rookie Blue), Michael Angarano (Will & Grace), Cara Seymour (An Education), and Chris Sullivan (The Normal Heart), there is always a lot going on, and pretty much all of it exciting, culminating in a heck of an ending to the year. I definitely recommend watching this series.

The Complete Second Season does an excellent job putting together a large batch of extras, too. I really liked the walking tour of the set, which reveals some of the hidden details of the wonderful designs, and the behind-the-scenes vignettes with the cast and crew. There is also a feature on the costumes, and a look at how the extravagant charity ball came together for episode seven. The medical procedures shown on screen are discussed more fully, there are recaps of each episode, “Knicktoids” facts, and three of the hours even have audio commentaries. All in all, the bonuses are worthy of the series, which is becoming more and more of a rarity in recent releases.

I liked The Knick right from the pilot. I’m glad to go along for the ride of season two, and I am very intrigued about the possibilities for the third outing, which has not yet been scheduled, the series taking a break as they plan the next two years of story. If its return is anything like what’s come so far, it’ll be worth the wait.

The Knick: The Complete Second Season will be available on disc on August 2nd, and is already available for pre-order on Amazon and other sites, as well as digitally.

AMERICAN GOTHIC Prime Example of Summer TV in America

Article first published by AMERICAN GOTHIC Review on Seat42F.

Next up in the crappy-summer-shows roster is CBS’ AMERICAN GOTHIC. A soapy murder mystery, I understand why this series was held for burn-off during the hot months because it feels a lot like several other shows that premiered earlier in the year, were soon canceled, and I’ve mostly forgotten about (like The Family). Will this show find an audience and fare better? Probably not, so I wouldn’t blame you if you stop reading now and ignore its existence.

If you’re still reading, let’s talk a little bit about AMERICAN GOTHIC, though. It has a pleasant enough cast, which makes for many suspects, each with their own dark secrets (because no one in a world like this is ever who everyone thinks they are). By making a lot of them related, it’s supposed to be more shocking when things come to light, or harder for the characters to distrust one another, but it’s not because of the very familiar tone. There is a serial killer, but don’t even bother trying to figure out who it is at this stage because there will be a million red herrings and twists.

It’s not very satisfying to watch a show like this because it doesn’t feel like there’s a plan from the start. I could be wrong, and there’s no way to know that until the end of the season, but unlike in the best mysteries, that drop important clues early on, shows like these tend to concentrate more on doing the unexpected than crafting an intricate story. They try to go for the plot that comes out of nowhere, rather than something that naturally flows or was previously hinted at. It makes theorizing with your friends just not that great since no one really has any insight into what’s going to happen. It’s an all-too-common style that we can use less of on television, and the way the pilot plays out all but confirms that’s what AMERICAN GOTHIC is.

I realize I haven’t given you a lot of specifics about why I think the show is bad, but I really don’t want to ruin anything for those who are genuinely interested. Let’s just say there are things involving a cat, a box, and a hospital room that smack as gratuitous and have helped forge the opinion above.

As I mentioned before, the cast is good. With so many quality programs on the small screen these days, it’s not a surprise that even the lesser fare can attract talent. After all, it’s often hard to tell from just a script whether the series will be great or not. AMERICAN GOTHIC does have a solid ensemble, and they sell the material pretty much as convincingly as possible.

The central figure seems to be Alison Hawthorne-Price (Juliet Rylance, The Knick), a wife and mother running for mayor of her city. As the campaign unfolds, we meet the rest of the clan, brought in to help her win. There’s matriarch Madeline (Virginia Madsen, Sideways), former drug-using brother Cam (Justin Chatwin, Shameless), Cam’s disturbed son Jack (Gabriel Bateman, Stalker), elementary school teacher sister Tessa (Megan Ketch, Jane the Virgin), Tessa’s detective husband Brady (Elliot Knight, Once Upon a Time), and long-missing brother Garrett (Antony Starr, Banshee). There’s also a father to the group, who is not in the official cast list, so presumably not a main character, and Cam’s still-addicted ex, Sophie (Stephanie Leonidas, Defiance), soon pops back up.

It is a relatively large family, but again, that’s needed so we have a lot of suspects and a dozen episodes of secrets can come out. After all, a lot of different boxes are checked with the grouping above, no one having a boring life that won’t affect the proceedings, and no two crossing orbits too much. It’s a familiar formula that probably won’t work any better than it usually does.

AMERICAN GOTHIC premieres Wednesday, June 22 at 10/9c.

Check In to THE KNICK

Article first published as THE KNICK Review on Seat42F.

The Knick | Andre Holland, Michael Angarano, Clive Owen, Eve Hewson, Eric Johnson | Credit Mary Cybulski/Cinemax

Cinemax finally has a series worth watching! Well, at least in this reviewer’s opinion. In the past, episodes I’ve screened of their shows were always heavy on action and violence and gore, but light on character development and story. This week, though, sees the premiere of THE KNICK, a period medical drama set in New York’s Knickerbocker Hospital at the turn of the previous century.

The lead character in THE KNICK is Dr. John W. Thackery (Clive Owen, Hemingway & Gellhorn). He’s very House M.D.-like in that he’s abrasive, brilliant, and has a serious drug addiction. Thackery learned to lean on the illegal substances from his mentor, Dr. Christenson (Matt Frewer, Orphan Black), and now realizes that it might not be a good idea to continue this habit as he takes over as head of surgery. Thankfully, his skills in treating patients haven’t suffered, but the self-medicating could be affecting his attitude.

The main difference between THE KNICK and House is that THE KNICK is not concerned with a mystery-of-the-week. It seems poised for a highly serialized plot, thankfully, that will deal with some depth among the players, as well as some of the issues of the age. Greed and bribery are running rampant, and race is a major factor in how the dynamic of the cast shapes up. These may be the go-to elements for that era, but they work well when told in an interesting, entertaining way, which THE KNICK does, surely thanks in no small part to its Oscar-winning director, Steven Soderbergh (Traffic).

THE KNICK is not boring, as some period dramas are wont to be. It does seem relatively authentic, for the most part. The costumes and set design are cool. There are some scenes that are more bloody than I’d prefer, a nod to the network it airs on, and the score is distracting at the start of the pilot, not quite in sync with what’s happening. However, these are minor gripes in the overall production, which I greatly enjoy.

Besides Owen and Frewer, both terrific performers, THE KNICK includes Andre Holland (1600 Penn) as Thackery’s new, forced-upon-him, African American deputy, Dr. Algernon Edwards, Eric Johnson (Flash Gordon) as the passed-over Dr. Gallinger, Michael Angarano (Will & Grace) as chipper Bertie, Juliet Rylance (Sinister) as overbearing benefactor Cornelia Robertson, Eve Erson (This Must Be the Place) as naïve nurse Lucy, Jeremy Bobb (The Wolf of Wall Street) as the beleaguered administrator, Chris Sullivan (The Normal Heart) as a jerk ambulance driver, Cara Seymour (An Education) as a closed-off nun, and David Fierro (Birman) as a sleazy health inspector. It’s a full, wide-ranging cast of characters, one sure to keep the story moving forward aplenty.

The writing is smart. Yes, some of the situations are fairly standard, but they’re handled in a rather clever way. For instance, the role Christenson plays in the series is interesting. Also, near the end of the pilot, there comes the moment when viewers know that Algernon must end up fully employed at The Knick, despite the obstacles that have plagued him so far. I thought I figured out what would happen, but the show dodges down a different path, showing its unpredictability.

1900 is an exciting year, with technological and medical revolutions galore. It’s the perfect place for a series like THE KNICK to unfold, adding something new to the television landscape, despite its similarities to a few different genres. Kudos to those who have crafted this beautiful show, and I look forward very much to seeing how it plays out.

Perhaps I’m not quite inspired enough to order Cinemax, which offers very few decent programs and pretty much the same slate of movies as HBO, but definitely enough to seek out all of the installments of THE KNICK wherever I can legitimately find them.

THE KNICK premieres this Friday at 10 p.m. ET on Cinemax.