‘My Boy Jack’ – DVD Review

Article first published as ‘My Boy Jack’ – DVD Review on Blogcritics.

My Boy Jack is a BBC production of a family caught up in the Great War. Based on real events, the movie stars Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter, A Young Doctor’s Notebook) as John “Jack” Kipling, son of author, poet, and outspoken hawk Rudyard Kipling (David Haig, Yes, Prime Minister).

When Jack tries to join Britain’s armed forces, he is denied because of his need for spectacles. Unfortunately, his father is out telling every able-bodied young lad that they must join up or be shunned by their countrymen. In the position to do so, Rudyard can pull strings to help Jack enlist, but should he? And how will Rudyard feel if Jack marches out and doesn’t make it home? Although My Boy Jack was made in 2007, it only recently made its U.S. debut, on cable network Ovation. It has now been released on DVD as well.

I can see why My Boy Jack might have had a hard time finding its audience. The first half of the series is a slow-moving, seemingly typical British drama. It then morphs into a war story, complete with death and explosions, before focusing on the family struggling emotionally back home. These pivots provide an uneven tone, even while maintaining the quality, so its sometimes hard knowing what to expect from moment to moment.

At a 94-minute running time, it hardly seems long enough for a biopic, but in this one, it’s plenty for the movie’s very narrow focus. Jack’s involvement in the war, and that is told from beginning to end, leaves no hanging threads.

The world referenced by My Boy Jack was a defining time for the British Empire, and it’s easy to see why a boy, who might not quite be physically fit by the war department’s standards, struggles against the odds to serve King and Country. England was at the height of its power at the time, and the British way of life seemed threatened. Combine that with the father-son relationship and Rudyard’s stance on defending the homeland, Jack will feel ashamed if he can’t participate, disappointing his father and his peers. He must enlist, and we feel his struggle.

The film’s family drama is very strongly portrayed. Rudyard is presented as a man confident in his beliefs, but not immune to being shaken by circumstance. His wife, Caroline (Kim Cattrall, Sex and the City), is supportive, but torn, proud, and not wanting her boy in danger. She knows Jack is heading to a place where many of the nation’s young men are dying every day. Jack’s sister, Elsie (Carey Mulligan, The Great Gatsby), is more straightforward with her disapproval, sharing a close bond with Jack, and scared about what might happen.

While the events portrayed in My Boy Jack happened a century ago and are easily spoiled with an online research, I’ll refrain from revealing if Jack makes it home. I will say that the story is moving and the performances are very good, even if the overall result isn’t anything particularly special.

The DVD release of My Boy Jack comes with several bonus features. We’re given six minutes of deleted scenes that are actually pretty insightful, unlike many other titles. There are twenty-four minutes of interviews with various cast members and almost a full hour discussing the war itself. This unexpected wealth of useful extras is most welcome, making the DVD feel like it’s for a theatrical film, rather than a TV movie.

My Boy Jack is available now.

THE CARRIES DIARIES "Win Some, Lose Some"

Article first published as THE CARRIES DIARIES "Win Some, Lose Some" on TheTVKing.

The CW's The Carrie Diaries, a prequel to Sex and the City sort of based on the book of the same name, returns for a second season tonight with "Win Some, Lose Some." It's summer, and Carrie (AnnaSophia Robb) is ensconced in a fabulous New York City apartment. Too bad her ex-boyfriend, Sebastian (Austin Butler), shows up and ruins her good times. Luckily, a true, life-long friend is just around the corner for Carrie.

In the first season, the connections drawn between this new show and SATC are few and far between, which could have made it harder to gain viewers. Though most SATC fans aren't watching the CW, anyway, with the network's main demographic having been born too late to enjoy the SATC craze. Either way, season two immediately sets about to make the parallels a little more obvious, tying the two together.

For one thing, Carrie's hair is now looking more familiar. And I'm burying the lead, because Samantha Jones (Lindsey Gort, 2 Guns) is on the scene! It takes awhile in "Win Some, Lose Some" for Samantha to show up, but once she does, she clocks plenty of screen time, with the promise of more in the near future. The official website does not currently list Samantha as a main character, but Wikipedia does, so I'm not sure how much she'll be included in The Carrie Diaries from now, but probably quite a bit.

It's very hard to make a prequel series (whether or not they call it that, it is considered such) because the performances of certain characters will inevitably be compared to those that came before them. Robb is not a lot like Sarah Jessica Parker, even though her locks now match somewhat, but I think Gort hews a little closer to Kim Cattrall. The mannerisms and the voice are a little off, but with her mouth closed, Gort looks a lot like her predecessor. Now, whether matching the look is a good thing, further inviting comparisons, when the personality is off, is debatable. I'm just reporting the facts.

"Win Some, Lose Some" does not really establish the needed chemistry between Carrie and Samantha. Their bonding feels a little false, and it's puzzling why Sam, as she's presented, would tag along with the kid. Her dialogue indicates Carrie is annoying her. Samantha actually seems kind of bored and lonely, which is the only explanation that makes sense for Samantha to follow Carrie around. Not the best start to an extremely important relationship.

That aside, though, "Win Some, Lose Some" is not a bad episode. It splits off the characters in pleasing pairings, and moves the story along. Plus, it's set during the summer, which is rare for a TV show to do. I wonder if The Carrie Diaries will stay in the warmer months for awhile, given that the sequel to the book is set in the summer? Let's hope so, because it feels novel and interesting.

Maggie (Katie Findlay) and Mouse (Ellen Wong) are at odds over Maggie sleeping with Sebastian last season, and apart from Carrie, we see how these two girls work out the tension between them. With Carrie destined to move on without her high school gal pals, one hopes that they can rely on each other, long after Carrie exits the picture. The season premiere finds a lot of strife in their friendship, but perhaps they can come to some sort of understanding eventually.

Elsewhere, there's a nice little story between Dorrit (Stefania Owen) and her father (Matt Letscher). Again, Carrie clearly is not involved in their lives down the road, based on SATC, so viewers will want to know these two have each other, even when Carrie moves on in the Big Apple.

It's kind of hard to appreciate some aspects of The Carrie Diaries, knowing so many of the characters must either die or having a falling out with the main girl before the end of the show's run. Perhaps it will seek to chart a new path, one in which Carrie's friends and family from her hometown keep in touch, but if this show sticks to the established plot, Carrie will move on without them. Thus, I appreciate that Carrie is on her own in this episode, even as I hope for happy-ish tie-ups of the supporting players, sans Carrie, at the end. Or in the middle, judging by the pacing thus far.

Donna LaDonna (Chloe Bridges) is the one person I wish for most to somehow forge something lasting with Carrie. However, after she does something nice for Walt (Brendan Dooling), The Carrie Diaries can't resist souring our image of her once more.  I love this character as much as I hate her, and it will be interesting to see how Donna turns out as an adult... if we get that far.

The Carrie Diaries is somewhat stuck in honoring what came before it, but for the parts of the episode that a viewer can forget SATC and just take this show on its own, it's enjoyable. Maybe waiting a few more years before making this production would have helped with that somewhat, but since the CW did not, I do appreciate what's being done, even if it's not quite rising up to the shadow it's living in.

The Carrie Diaries premieres tonight at 8 p.m. ET on the CW.

The Kent Chronicles now on DVD

Back in the 1970s, in honor of the 200th anniversary of the Declaration on Independence, John Jake wrote a series of eight best selling novels. Collectively know as The Kent Family Chronicles, or The American Bicentennial Series, they tell the story of Phillipe Charboneau, a Frenchmen who travels through England and the New World in Revolutionary times, changing his name to Philip Kent, and interacting with a surprisingly large number of historical figures. The series continues with Philip's descendants, eventually ending in 1890.

Given the books' popularity, it should come as no surprise that they would be adapted for the screen. Or, the first three were, anyway, as television miniseries. Acorn Media has released a DVD set of these called The Kent Chronicles. This three disc edition contains the trio of films, broadcast in 1978 and 1979, and each over three hours long.

The first in the series is The Bastard. Here, Phillipe Charboneau (Andrew Stevens, Dallas, The Boondock Saints) is 17-years-old when he learns that he is the son of the Duke of Kent. The Duke is ill and won't claim his bastard child. Feuding with the legitimate family, and too poor to go home, Phillipe flees to London. There he meets Benjamin Franklin (Tom Bosley, Happy Days), who convinces Phillipe that America is the place to go.

Changing his name to Philip Kent, the protagonist is not in Boston very long before getting involved with the rebels and participating in the Boston Tea Party. Philip concurrently plays a role in the early dispute for the colonies, while haunted by the past he left in England, which follows him across the pond. The Bastard culminates in love and the Battle of Concord.

Picking up months later, The Rebels continues Philip's role in the war. This takes him away from home, leaving his wife, Anne Kent (Kim Cattrall, Sex and the City) to fend for herself, which, to make a long story short, does not go well.

The Rebels also follows Philip's friend, Judson Fletcher (Don Johnson, Miami Vice, Nash Bridges), a drunk and a womanizer. Judson's luck may even by worse than Philip's, as it's awfully hard to build a life for oneself when constantly offending others. If only Judson could give up the women and the booze, he might stand a chance.

In the third chapter, The Seekers, the Kent family has grown older. Philip's son, Abraham (Randolph Mantooth, Emergency!), is the new focus, and he's trying to build a life on the frontier. Family squabbling rears its ugly head again, resulting in some severe falling outs. Eventually the family is caught up in the War of 1812.

After watching The Kent Chronicles, it's really a shame more adaptations weren't made from the rest of the books. The Bastard and The Rebels tells Philip's tale pretty completely. But The Seekers mostly sets up his kids and grandkids for stories that never make it to screen. The books have the luxury of additional volumes. This DVD set does not, making the third installment, while still enjoyable, inferior to the first two.

On the whole though these are excellent specials, and a big draw is seeing all of the famous faces that pop up throughout the saga. William Shatner (Star Trek, Boston Legal) plays Paul Revere. Buddy Ebsen (The Beverly Hillbillies) is Benjamin Edes. Lorne Green (Bonanza) is Bishop Francis. Peter Graves (Mission: Impossible, Airplane!) plays George Washington. Harry Morgan (M*A*S*H), John de Lancie (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Jim Backus (Gilligan's Island), William Daniels (Boy Meets World), Robert Vaughn (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.), Delta Burke (Designing Women), Robert Reed (The Brady Bunch), Ed Harris (The Hours), Olivia Hussey (Romeo & Juliet), and Eric Stoltz (Caprica) also appear, among others.

The Kent Chronicles is sort of like a Roots for white people. Yes, the suffering is often brought more upon themselves in this series than the historic African-American one. But it depicts several generations of a family, showing the story of how they got to America, and what happened after. It's also a little bit like Forrest Gump in that the fictional narrative is interwoven with many important real events. It might not be quite as entertaining or renowned as either of those, but it's still a very good story, well executed here.

The Kent Chronicles is most definitely a product of the era in which it was made. More soapy than political, the budget wasn't available to get too gritty or realistic. The story frequently sways into the cheesy and melodramatic. However, if you keep in mind not only the time period in which the action is set, but also when the miniseries were made, it's easy to just enjoy this escapist television, not worrying about plot holes or historical inconsistencies.

Visually, too, The Kent Chronicles is a bit lacking by today's standards, but perfectly acceptable for the time. The quality isn't bad for the late 1970s, though one wishes a little more work would have been put into restoring it. It's presented full screen. But given that this is the only release available for these shows, most fans will just be grateful for any edition.

Sadly, there is a severe lack of bonus features. All that is included is a two minute trailer and a biography of the books' author, John Jakes. Couldn't the actors have been interviewed? Historians consulted to give perspective? Ah, well. Maybe, if The Kent Chronicles sells well enough, we'll get extras and a better restoration when it comes out on Blu-ray.

The Kent Chronicles is available now wherever DVDs are sold.

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