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Dark Winds: Hózhó náhásdlii (Beauty Is Restored) (2023)
Another great series
First, thanks to Tony Hillerman for the Chee/Leaphorn books. I read the first of them in the late 90s and then as they came out over the years after that. When Anne published her first novel I then re-read all of Tony's books and am now a faithful fan of Anne's works. If you haven't read these books do so!
There were several attempts at bringing the Chee/Leaphorn books to film. The books are so rich that a 2-hour movie or a 2 part miniseries just can't capture the subtleties of the underlying story and the rich Navajo culture and do justice to both. This style does such a better job of having time for both! I do think this story was rushed a little and staying in the 50 minute (with commercials) time slot is restrictive. For the future don't be afraid of adding another episode or two or like some other made-for-streaming contents do go beyond the time slot.
As I finished episode 6 I realized that there were pieces that didn't connect so I watched the entire 6 episodes again. It was better the second time around.
Season 3 ought to be a gimme!
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Ad Astra Per Aspera (2023)
Great episode bridging TOS
This was a well written lesson in social studies. TOS was well known for disguising a societal lecture in the guise of science fiction. One attempt was in the Season 3 episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" with Lou Antonio and Frank Gorshin as two bi colored beings whose respective societies discriminate against the other. The discussions of racism and discrimination are a little less obvious than in the newest episode.
Ad Astra Per Aspera hits on many of our current issues, but reminds us that while at any point in time the law of land is law, the point made several times is that laws change. Slavery was abolished, segregation was abolished. This court was not going to fix it for all Illyrians today but certainly opens the door for closer evaluation of genetically engineered people. The Eugenics Wars resulted from some experiments gone awry, but it is also certain that the technology advances and not all genetically modified beings are evil.
This one replaces my "Best Star Trek Episode that is a lecture on racism".
Well done.
Clarkson's Farm: Climaxing (2023)
A season summary
Once again a season's summary as I'll mention things other than in this last episode. My memory is also failing so I'll refer to some people in the third party. Sorry, sucks to get old.
I loved this season more because of the cattle than anything. I can personally relate to "cows", having grown up on a dairy farm. I can tell all that watched that there is no made up drama here. Everything about the cows - from buying (we bought most of our stock at auctions, pure bred Brown Swiss for us), breeding (we had a bull on site, always rotated after a year to keep the gene pool fresh), and to the calving.
Oh the calving. The scenes of the birthing, like the lambing, were probably nothing you'd see on network TV and a tip of the hat to Amazon for telling it like it is.
Everyone always cringed when I described having my arm the cow up to my shoulder. (Of course, the local kids knew because they did it too). Now I can actually point people for them to see it.
Oh my goodness, the calf puller rig was awesome! It would have been so much easier than a portable block and tackle with one end tied to a post!!!
Kaleb was a hero when he rescued the calf in distress. The color was so off I didn't think it would make it and cried and cheered when it did ! Job well done. I think the summary that the calf would have died had it not been pulled then probably minimizes reality - a vet could have birthed it but there would be a good chance the cow would have died and for sure would have probably lost her uterus if not. No matter what the cow would have no more calves.
The rest of the thread about the restaurant and the local planning just made me mad. I was heartbroken when Jeremy got the neighbors together and heard that ALL OF THEM would probably lose their farms unless Jeremy's restaurant was able to buy up their goods. The milk lady's story was especially heartbreaking - losing so much of the herd to TB meant their milk production and profit dried up. So sad. And every one of them had some piece of their production that didn't compete with any of the other producers (although they had overlap certainly, but they weren't there to out-position each other, only to move what product they could that didn't compete with their neighbors. That's being neighbors.
At the hearing I'm surprised Jeremy and his legal team didn't make more of this - I would have hoped that hearing that their decision not only affected Jeremy but all of the nearby farms should have had some impact on them. But I think they was nothing Jeremy could do or say that would swerve them. So sad.
Kaleb is a treasure. He's so young but so wise. I loved his trip to London to sell the Wasabi (or was that last season?) The award ceremony from the Farmers association was a real treat. And Jeremy giving credit to Kaleb was really out of place for him. And the final helicopter ride was such a treat. I hear that Kaleb has branched out with some of his own ventures but hope he will be back for season 3.
I liked seeing more of Lisa.
But to drive it home, to the council and planners, Jeremy Clarkson is a saving grace to your community. Like no other farmer in your area Jeremy can afford to throw his own money in to make up the operating shortage (a fair amount of it probably paid by Amazon and the show). Nonetheless, Jeremy can afford it. YOUR NEIGHBOR FARMERS CAN'T! You seem to have a personal burr under your saddles about Jeremy - the rich guy whose motto is "it's easier to apologize than ask permission" but by denying him his development and improvements your hurting not only him but all of the neighboring farms that would have contributed to the locally grown foods you so much wanted.
The demise of all the hens wasn't closed. Foxes? Badgers? Mink??? Another setback. Buy more chicks at the seed store in the spring.
The whole restaurant thing was clearly rushed. They glossed over all the stuff that a restaurant really needs - where was the health inspector? No restaurant I've ever seen didn't have a final inspection. Running water, hot water, waste water, dishwasher, sinks all seemed absent in the kitchen. The concept that all of this was done in two days is a little bit of a stretch but it made for a good story. And the local naysayers stayed away. Hopefully the locals that came will have good words and maybe they'll be able to get the intended site up and running.
PS. That stuff with the markers on the road was nothing short of a bunch of vindictive third graders with playground monitor badges. How disgusting.
The
Can't wait for Season 3.
Clarkson's Farm: Harvesting (2021)
I grew up on a farm and this show nailed it
I grew up on a farm and can attest to everything going on.
The humor in the show is great, but Jeremy and Amazon have really nailed farm life. Every day is a new test. Some days you win and other days you lose and then you get up the next day and do it again.
Thanks Jeremy for:
Lambing. Ours was a dairy farm in Iowa/South Dakota. We sold milk in gallon jugs right off the farm. You had lambs, we had Brown Swiss calves. We sold milk off the farm at our little store for $0.35/gallon (which was mostly top cream it was so rich). My grandmother stressed when grandpa had to raise the milk price to 0.50/gallon then a whopping $1.00/gallon near the end. People just kept coming to the farm to buy it. We had eggs and had a few select customers that we would raise a turkey or roasting chickens.
The goings on around the farm. I'm afraid that most people that have never really worked on a farm think that it's all about tractoring and stuff. The reality is there are tons of menial jobs that just have to be done. I remember fondly the tool used to set the fence posts. Post after post pounded into the ground then stringing wire which was sometimes an electric fence!
Harvesting. Our crops were corn, soy beans and hay. The hay was kept to feed the herd. Corn was both feed and cash if we had an excess.
Lisa's Massey. Ours was the bigger model but nothing we had was as big as the Lambo. Our little workhorse was a Ford 8N.
We had some wetlands and forest area. They were home to pheasants, squirrels and rabbits which were hunted every fall.
We didn't name the calf that we would have for supper the next year.
And all of that for 144 pounds in the year. I never knew how much my grandparents made but we and they lived comfortably but never had excess. Everyone probably laughed at
And I laughed my arse off with the Bentley.
I'm sure everyone thought Kaleb's trip to London was put on but it's not. Many farmers never go more than 50 miles from home. The furthest my grandfather ever went was to an auction in Minnesota.
I can't wait for Season 2.
Gunsmoke: I Call Him Wonder (1963)
Great show
Another great story by the grandmother of westerns - Kathleen Hite. From the moment we see Wonder you're hooked. This story was remade later on in the series. I think this is the better version.
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: The Fear-Makers (1964)
Nood non-sci-fi episode
The earliest episodes of the series were the best. That was when the "enemy" was other people - spies and stuff like that - instead of space aliens and deep sea monsters. The show's transformation from political thriller to sci-fi monsters was the theme of the time though. I liked it better when it was the Man From UNCLE instead of Lost In Space but still have to admit I liked it both ways.
Wagon Train: The Elizabeth McQueeny Story (1959)
Bette Davis at her TV best
She was on Wagon Train 3 times and each time is a treat but I think this one is my favorite. Her artful dodge with Major Adams about her business was done with straight faces! She was an "actor's actor" and her screen presence steals this show. As another reviewer said, I think she was having fun!
Gunsmoke: The Gallows (1962)
One of the best of the series
Here we are 60 years after it first aired. This is definitely one of the best episodes of the series and one of the best of the 60s-70 Western era. At the end he refused a life of "runnin' and hidin' and runnin' and hidin' to become an old west version of the Fugitive. Great acting and writing.
M*A*S*H: Point of View (1978)
One of the best of the series
The writing and cinematography make this one of the best shows of the series.
I still can't believe that MASH will be 50 this fall, and the series is still better than anything on network TV today.
Wagon Train: The Kate Parker Story (1959)
Returning actors in different roles
It's amazing to see in this era how often actors and actresses returned to series in different roles. This episode featured Virginia Grey almost exactly a year after she appeared in the two-part episode of "The Major Adams Story" where she was Rainy Webster (in my opinion, one of her best roles she ever played). In the same time frame you might see actors like her or Royal Dano on different shows in a span of a week or so. These wonderful actors were never wanting for work!!!
Toon in with Me: Sventoonie (2021)
This show is a vampire
Please do us a favor and drive a stake through its heart.
I'd give it a zero stars if I could.
The first airing is tonight. I sure hope this doesn't last long.
The commercials are better than the show.
1883: This Is Not Your Heaven (2022)
She was so strong
I knew going into this one that it was going to be a three hankie episode. It was.
Elsa was such a strong personality. It would have been such a continuation to see who and what she became because I think she was the strength of the family.
I hope 1883 continues for a while and we don't jump to 1932 without some continuity.
Graham Green's prediction of 7 generations was so well thought out.
In the early days of the series in an interview Taylor Sheridan said he wrote the series as though it were a novel. I sincerely hope he will some day publish that novel.
Wagon Train: The Honorable Don Charlie Story (1958)
Double whammy!
Any show with Virginia Grey are worth watching. Any show with Caesar Romero is worth watching. Put them together and you've got to have a killer. This is one of my favorites. It gets a 9, and only because the only 10 I've given goes to A Man Called Horse.
1883 (2021)
Influence from other sources
Does anyone else detect an influence of Centennial (both Michener's book and the TV miniseries) on this series? Centennial goes back further but both follow a group of settlers from the covered wagon days to what will eventually end up as modern times, culminating with the founding of the Dutton ranch, much as Centennial followed the Garretts of central Colorado.
If you haven't watched Centennial do so.
1883: The Weep of Surrender (2022)
Combination of two milestone films
A previous writer mentions the influence of Dances With Wolves. Yes, but not for the whole series yet. Eventually they have to get back to the trail.
I'll propose that Centennial (Michener's book and the TV miniseries) probably has a bigger influence.
Enterprise: Carbon Creek (2002)
A delightful episode
This version of Star Trek franchise is, to me, the closest to carry on the legacy of the original series. This episode was a delight to watch. It surely is my favorite of the series so far. T'Pol can sure tell a story!
Enterprise: Carbon Creek (2002)
A delightful episode
This version of Star Trek franchise is, to me, the closest to carry on the legacy of the original series. This episode was a delight to watch. It surely is my favorite of the series so far. T'Pol can sure tell a story!
A Star Is Born (2018)
Just watched all 4
My daughter and watched all 4 of the Star Is Born films over the past 3 days.
The first one is good.
The second with Judy Garland is my favorite. As it is with Lady Gaga, both ladies can act and sing, but Judy does both with heart as she always did. I give the "my favorite" not to this one, but only by a smidge over #4. #2 goes to this Lady Gaga version.
#3 with Barbara was just OK. She is a strong performer, but Kristoferson wasn't an actor and only a mediocre singer. He needed to stay writing songs.
M*A*S*H: Old Soldiers (1980)
A great job of writing and acting
MASH was the only show that I can remember that can make you laugh and then come along and punch you in the gut.
The ending scene is a real mark for Harry Morgan's acting. I'll assert, without knowledge, that only Harry Morgan knew this scene and that the rest of the cast was not involved in rehearsals. I think this because Morgan's delivery is that of a seaasoned actor. But I don't think the rest of it was scripted. The scene had the feeling that the rest of the crew's reactions were real - ad-libbed in their characters, but otherwise unscripted. The looks on their faces were one time reactions and it really did seem that David Ogden-Steirs had tears on his cheeks that started in the early part and were streaming down by his chin near the end before the toast.
Great episode and I always try to catch it when it comes around.
Gunsmoke: Comanches Is Soft (1964)
Road Trip!
Festus and Quint play off each other perfectly in this episode. The light hearted theme is a welcome break from the often Debbie-Downer stories/writing.
Wagon Train: Trial for Murder: Part 1 (1960)
A favorite episode
I've been watching Wagon Train for a while now on MeTV and have circled the wagons through all the episodes at least twice this being the third time I've seen the two-part episode.
The writing here is the best of the series. The dialog snippets here is missing Adams' closing monologue which is among the best he's ever delivered (as is the ending of part 2 which is used in MeTV commercial soundbites). In the dialog Adams mentions that the Applewhite character being a teacher instead of a practitioner of the law did society a much better service by teaching many more inspired lawyers. As I watched it this time I wonder how many young people listening to this became inspired themselves.
The acting is superb, especially Henry Hull and Henry Daniell.
Part 2 is even better.
It's a shame these episodes were not Emmy material.
The Outer Limits: The Origin of Species (1998)
Part 2
Good story, although the ship's shenanigans seemed more to fill the time. I don't know if this episode was planned or if it was a deliberate follow on. In my opinion the two one-hour episodes could have been combined into a single 90-minute episode with no content loss.
Once again the writers took lead from another great sci-fi flick - having landed on a planet it wasn't a giant leap to figure out where they were, and the snippet of the Golden Gate Bridge was precisely the same gimmick used in Planet Of The Apes when both finally realized they hadn't gone anywhere after all.
Still a good story and definitely worth watching both parts.
The Outer Limits: Double Helix (1997)
Close Encounters
This is a fine example of the original series sci-fi episodes. It doesn't start out that way. I was intrigued by the premise and it wasn't until the ending that the parallel to Close Encounters Of The Thrid Kind became obvious. I'm watching the series on Amazon Prime and I'm going to skip to the sequel this afternoon.
At the ending of Close Encounters my wife asked me if I would have gotten on the ship. My answer was an unequivocal "Yes". She said she would not. Here we had 8 "volunteers" that all signed on for the expedition not having known what they were in for. I expect that the vetting process for selecting the majority probably factored in their scientific curiosity.
Can't wait to watch part 2.
Gunsmoke: Call Me Dodie (1962)
Kathleen Nolan carries this show
Kathleen Nolan just simply carries this show! She is so naive yet so believable as someone who has led an extremely sheltered life. When Kitty sees her back and she just admires the soft cloth, you can see that Kitty is about to cry but doesn't. (I almost did.)
This one is an atypical Kathleen Hite episode. It has some very good comic moments but then builds drama as the real horrors she has lived with are exposed.
I try to see this one every time it comes on.
Wagon Train: The Mary Ellen Thomas Story (1958)
One of their best
Patty MCCormack is great as Mary Ellen. The look on her face when she pulls some of the early pranks is priceless.
The story evolution shows how talented writers (especially Coon) can tell a tale and keep you interested in the story and invested in the characters.
This is one of my favorite episodes. I give it a 9 only because 10 is reserved for the episode "A Man Called Horse", which I think of as one of the best TV episodes ever.
Edit: Here it is a year later now, and MeTV is running this episode as one of their Christmas season episodes. It is as good this year as last.
As I said in the previous iteration, this is one of my favorites. Having "circled the wagons" of Wagon Train around all the episodes in this time, this episode still ranks with me as one of the best and one of my favorites. My rating of 9 stands.