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Reviews
Simon & Simon: The Apple Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree (1986)
Sad way to end the series
We usually enjoy most of the episodes, but this one is off our list to ever watch again. It is dreadful and so embarrassingly stupid. That cousin of theirs was too heavy with the blush on one side of her face. It wasn't even balanced with the other side of her face.
We love the Marlowes they had, because it was obvious that during the running of the series, they had more than one. We always enjoyed seeing these sweet puppies! Sometimes it was the best part of the whole show.
I really love the theme music. It is great!! To me, it is the best theme music of any of the programs we have ever watched.
Craig's Wife (1936)
Does anyone really pay attention?
First of all, this is a poor version of the story.
I am a big fan of Rosalind Russell, but the whole film is so disjointed and she cannot hold it together.
Sorry, but the Joan Crawford film is so much better.
And there were two glaring errors in the reviews. It was John Boles aunt that was living with them, not Russell's mother-in-law.
Then the little boy was not Russell's, but the neighbor's grandson.
I could go on and on, but I won't bother, it just is not a good film to me.
Father Brown: The Folly of Jephthah (2020)
Another pitiful episode
I absolutely abhor the Flambeau character. Thank goodness this is the last episode where I have to endure seeing him. Add his worthless daughter and the episode hits rock-bottom. Their verbal exchanges throughout got so boring so quickly. The acting was really bad. Then there is the fact that they get Father Brown involved in their little game. As someone offered, Brown is culpable in allowing thieves to continue their evil ways. He would have been better to help the authorities capture these crooks. After all, we have seen where criminals have found God in prison. Considering that Brown has been unsuccessful in helping Flambeau to redemption, this probably would have been a better way. As the series goes along, there are times when Brown seems to veer from reality.
Mallory has been annoying from day one. He is way over the top. Oh, there have been some glimpses of sanity, but unfortunately these are few and far between. If the writers could have only tone-downed his character a bit and not played him as a total buffoon. This was just another reason that made the episodes less enjoyable to watch.
I did like the fact that the Goodfellow character parts were built up considering he had much more sense than his superior.
Too bad that Lady Felicia and Sid were written out of most of the later episodes. They were always my favorites and enjoyable to watch.
Father Brown: The Missing Man (2016)
At least four glaring things wrong with this episode
Disappointing episode -
1. Why would Ned come back and resume his marriage when it was shown that he was not going to give up his alternate lifestyle?
2. What a crack shot Milly was to hit Ned in the temple from several feet away after firing only one shot.
3. Inspector Mallory dismisses tracking down the "killer".
4. That loaded guns were kept in an unlocked cabinet where anyone could gain access to them.
Side note - I am not fond of the Inspector Mallory character and unfortunately he is in the rest of the series.
Man with a Camera: Mute Evidence (1959)
Did I miss something
This was a good episode, but I am puzzled about one thing. In the scene, the girl went into the alley and took a picture through a window. Then the scene switched to the inside of the kitchen of the restaurant. The woman was there and then the man (killer) came out and took money out of his pockets and put it on a table. So, how did the picture of the guy, woman and the money happen when the girl had already taken the picture?
The Ray Bradbury Theater (1985)
Disappointing to say the least
We purchased the complete collection and because the name Ray Bradbury meant something we were sure we were going to get to watch some good stories. Boy, were we wrong. We are almost finished watching the whole series and it has been painful. Yes, these stories have some top-flight actors and actresses, but even their presence could not save the mediocre and moronic stories. The only story that we considered really good was "The Murderer". There were few (very few) that were mildly interesting. Most of them are trash with no rhyme or reason to them. We seriously doubt that we will be watching them again. They are just a waste of time for us. Needless to say, we believe that Bradbury is seriously overrated and will probably avoid anything with his name. So we say "Beware" if you are looking for stories that make even a little common sense.
The Ray Bradbury Theater: Tyrannosaurus Rex (1988)
Oh, boy -
This one does not even deserve one star. The story is weird and boring. There is nothing remotely redeeming about this trash.
Law & Order: Darwinian (2004)
Nobody wondered?
I am really curious about how that homeless man got behind the park bench. The woman that hit him kept him in her parking space for several days. I am guessing that she left him stuck in the windshield all that time, but here is the strange part - how did she get him over to the place where the policemen found him? She was not a large woman for one thing. Then did she drive the car with this dead man through the streets? It would be comical to see this f it were not so tragic. How did she pull the body out of the windshield? And did she drag the body behind the bench by herself? I found these details of the story quite odd and left unanswered.
Law & Order: Under God (2003)
Did they forget something?
There is the old saying from the Bible - "Vengeance is mine saith the Lord". I am surprised this was not brought up. As far as I can determine, this was people taking matters into their own hands and hiding behind their religion like what was trying to be pointed out. If god was to help, really help he could have done what was done in the movie "The Bad Seed" Maybe if that could really happen people would think twice before they did evil. Anyway, it was an okay episode.
The Twilight Zone: Stranger in Possum Meadows (1989)
I guess I'm odd.
This is one of my favorites. Okay, it is a gentle story, but there is an element of Sci-fi to it, which makes it a Twilight Zone episode. I'm not one to enjoy some of the creepy shows they call entertainment that showcase outrageous special effects. I would like to think that aliens would be curious about our planet, without being menacing. Don't we have enough of our own home-grown terrors? Watching programs, I want to escape reality and perhaps see something to make me forget what is going on all over the world.
The Ray Bradbury Theater: The Anthem Sprinters (1992)
What did they say??
Besides being boring, it would have helped if they had subtitles on this one. Trying to understand what was being said was my main concern. These people must lead pretty dull lives if the best they can come up with was this type of sport. Just one more dull episode.
The Ray Bradbury Theater: The Long Rain (1992)
And then what?
I really wanted to enjoy this episode because I am a fan of Marc Singer. It must have been a real trial to do this episode with the actors soaked throughout the whole thing. Trudging through most of this episode, I was patiently waiting for something interesting to happen at the end. I was not rewarded and it was like - and then what happened? Just another failed Bradbury tale.
The Ray Bradbury Theater: The Happiness Machine (1992)
Glad when it was over
Just another boring tale. Then the scenes with Gould working on his happiness machine were so drawn out and tiresome to watch. I find Elliott Gould a very unconvincing actor. To me, he is a cardboard actor. Reading his lines, in monotone, not giving his character any warmth or depth. As far as I'm concerned it might have been a fairly interesting story, if it was not for him and that someone else played the part. The rest of the cast (basically his wife) had more personality and depth then he. Another Bradbury failure.
The Ray Bradbury Theater: The Murderer (1990)
Spot on
My husband and I found this episode to be on the top of the Brad Bardbury Theater list. Love Bruce Weitz, he did his part to perfection!. How true this episode is to our lives of today. Just wonder what the future will be like if this continues. Perhaps implants, where you don' t have to be bothered carrying around devices? I cannot tell you how many times we have had cars pass by our house with the music so loud that it actual rattles our windows. Then with all the pop-up advertising on the Internet! Thank goodness I have for years been able to tune it out when I am trying to do research. What next?- are they trying to figure out how to invade our sleep time. The ending to this episode was perfect too.
The Ray Bradbury Theater: The Playground (1985)
Please pay attention
This was a nowhere episode for me and my husband. I just waited for it to be over. The ending was more than strange and left questions.
As usual Shatner was over the top with his acting.
Then, Kate Trotter who played Carol was his sister, not his wife. She talked about leaving to get married.
Kraft Suspense Theatre: The World I Want (1964)
Let's get this straight
First of all, I do agree that this is an awful episode. Dekker and Van Fleet's, performances were over the top. Ask yourself, how did these two ever get together in the first place.
Secondly, Leonard Nimoy did not, I repeat, did not play a detective, he was a lawyer.
Thirdly, the sign language was made up by the girl and the young man and was not an established sign language.
Law & Order: Damaged (1998)
Found it offensive
All other reviewers found Lauren Ambrose's performance good, I found her to overplay the part. I cringed every time she was on camera. Unlike Jacklin Brooke Sanford''s performance which was real. It is ashamed that they did not use a real mentally challenged individual to do the part. I believe it would have played out much better.
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: See the Monkey Dance (1964)
A real waste of time
I watched this episode yesterday and looked up the rating. I did watch it years ago and my opinion of it did not change. I really do not understand why it got such a high rating. It is one of the most miserable episodes. The actors could not save this one with the rather silly and stupid script. The banter on the train was tiresome and continued in the caravan. So there was really nothing left. Oh, surprise - Efrem Zimbalist's character was not the faithless woman's husband after all. His unkept look was rather distracting too. I always enjoy watching Roddy McDowall and he was interesting to watch to a point, but he could not save this stinker. One hour of boredom. I would suggest avoiding this one like the plague.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Final Arrangements (1961)
Worth watching
This is one of my all time favorites. I never get tired of watching it. The windup is so unexpected the first time you see it.
First rate performances by Martin Balsam, Vivian Nathan, O.Z. Whitehead and Slim Pickens.
Some might consider it a bit slow, but I find it to be nicely paced. I could only hope that Leonard found happiness on the other side, especially after trying to patiently dealing with his hypochondriac wife who continued to nag and berate him for so many years.
I know it is only a story, but with somethings that I have seen, I wonder what happened afterwards? What did his wife do? My husband always tells me that I have to write my own ending.
Bottom line - it is definitely worth watching.
Endeavour: Prey (2016)
Did anyone notice?
It was an okay episode. The usual twists and turns to the story that left me just waiting for the end to come. As beautiful as the tiger was, as far as I can tell, that was not a real tiger. I believe it was a digital reproduction. There was just something not quite right about it.
Father Brown (2013)
Something good to watch
Father Brown Mysteries is another series worth watching. Although some of the stories are not all that good, we especially enjoyed watching the interaction of the main characters. It took a bit of time to enjoy seeing Mark Williams as Father Brown. Sorcha Cusack's Mrs. McCarthy was a bit trying with that exaggerated Irish brogue. We loved Nancy Carroll as Lady Felicia. Our absolute favorite is Alex Price as Sid Carter. He is so cute. We always looked forward to seeing him and there were episodes where he did not appear, and we were disappointed. His character always added something to the episodes. We also loved the banter between Mrs. McCarthy and Lady Felicia. The one episode where they wound up in the hospital together was especially enjoyable. At least Father Brown was true to his faith/religion and always believed that everyone could be redeemed. His portrayal of Father Brown was more interesting than the earlier series with Kenneth More.
New Tricks (2003)
Worth watching over and over again
We consider this one of our all-time favorites, a top-rated series. The main cast – Dennis Waterman, Alan Armstrong, James Bolam, Amanda Redman and Susan Jameson were so much fun to watch. The initial investigations got to take a backseat to the interaction of the characters. The banter among them had us cracking up. I especially remember Alan Armstrong on his bike chasing a girl and riding the bike down some steps. The landing was hilarious. We were disappointed when the original cast started to leave. Things are never the same with different characters. In all fairness, I don't believe that they developed Denis Lawson or Nicholas Lyndhurst characters the way that they should have. They were not able to bring the same light-heartiness to the series and it faltered. It seemed that perhaps the writers/producers were getting away from this. I got the impression that especially Denis Lawson was at a loss as to what to do with his character. He might not have the capability of bringing off humor. I feel that Nicholas Lyndhurst was too much of a serious actor to make an attempt at humor. Besides these things, as with all series, the stories were getting a bit weak. It would have been interesting to see if the original cast could have brought those weak scripts to life. But all in all it is a series that we highly recommend.
Hinterland (2013)
Another one bites the dust
After painfully watching the first series (four episodes) we decided to put this on our "not to watch or continue to watch again" list. It just is not worth the time or trouble. We are sick of seeing these detectives with their unshaven faces and messy hair. They look like they sleep in their clothes and don't both cleaning up before they go to work. Don't they have standards to meet about looking professional. I liken it to unmade beds. None of the main characters are interesting. Mathias (Richard Harrington) has a perpetual frozen frown and wrinkled brow. His assistant Marad Rhys (Mali Harris) just seems to walk through the stories. The story lines are dragged out with closeup shots of unhappy faces that contribute nothing to the story and just drag out the episodes. They tend to hold the shot until you begin to get bored out of your skull. The last episode was particularly disgusting. Just meaningless scenes that went nowhere. The one scene where Mathias was having sex with the mother of the dead girl was stupid. At one point Mathias had his mouth open and he looked like a baby bird waiting for a worm. That was laughable. At least their having sex was not as graphic as we have seen in other things we have watched. No real understanding of who the murdered girl was, except that maybe she was a bit of a tramp. No feeling sad that she was murdered. Toward the end of the story, I joked that the character Dyfan Richard was the girl's father and wouldn't you know it, that is the way it turned out. I really believe they throw these twists and turns into the story as they go along. I think that the only way you can enjoy the series is to have the producers recommend the kind of drugs or booze you should ingest to make the show palatable. I have read several other reviews and they talk about the beautiful cinematography. So many of those shots, just to stretch out the story. Most of the scenery looked pretty bleak to me, like the story and characters. Really did not even deserve the one star I had to give.
Grantchester (2014)
Now I know why I'm not religious
Too many things wrong with this series. As it turned out, we feel that none of the characters are likable. With each episode we grew to dislike them even more.
Sidney – a man who says he loves God, yet he wantonly behaves in a way that is most unfitting with a man of the cloth. An alcoholic. With all the scenes of him drinking, I'm surprised that he was not in a state of perpetual intoxication. How about the scene where he is guzzling the wine out of the chalice after the church service? Smoked like a chimney in winter. His sexual behavior was more of lust than of love. After a short while, I found him repulsive for a vicar. Most of the scenes with him with a woman, were animal. I find most of the kissing scenes disgusting. I liken it to two pigs fighting over the same turnip – embarrassing. How about the scene where he has this woman against the wall and is gnawing at her face (kissing?) while the love of his life is watching him. Give me the films of old, where a kiss was warm and tender and showed love and affection. Not these days. The way they kiss on screen, I am surprised that they don't draw blood.
Amanda – at the beginning she and Sidney had what seemed to be a warm and affectionate relationship. Then she gets engaged to someone even though she is in love with Sidney and because he is not willing to ask her to marry him. She is constantly going to see Sidney even after she is married. From what I can gather, her husband is cold and withdrawn. Why shouldn't he be? She runs to Sidney every chance she gets, instead of trying to make her marriage work. Toward the end of season 3 she seemed to be turning into a shrew.
Geordie – why couldn't they have left him alone. Instead they turn him into an adulterer. And the usual, when found out he is so sorry. If he wasn't found out, he would have continued his affair. How predicable! I really like this character until he cheated on his wife.
Mrs. Maguire – sour faced who is wise about everyone else, but is taken in by her husband that was missing for ten years. Someone who sees all and knows all and still thinks that the people of the village need Sidney even after she sees how much he drinks and probably has a good idea of his sexual caring on. She was against Amanda at the beginning, but even though she knew it was wrong because Amanda is a married woman, she warmed up to her.
Leonard – our token gay person who does not really care about getting engaged to a woman and then dumping her without the slightest bit of conscience bothering him about how he hurt her - no real apology there.
This is more of a soap opera than a crime series or anything about religion. Sidney spends too much time without his vicar's collar. I love the scene where he and Amanda are out dancing and kissing in public. No shame at all, just lust. And when would the police allow anyone other than a police official to be in the room interrogating a suspect or prisoner?
It is rather funny the way at the end of an episode, Sidney gives a little speech in church. Words to live by, but not by him. We all have faults and failings and a man of the cloth is supposed to set an example for his parishioners to follow, but this is not the case with this hypocrite. He is the worst of the lot.
Jonathan Creek (1997)
Another one bites the dust
We managed to watch four episodes and put the rest aside. We might continue to watch the others at a later date, when we get desperate, but for now, it is a no go. The only good thing about it was the shots of the windmill - which is absolutely beautiful! The solutions to the crimes are over the top. The Wrestler's Tomb - Girl uses her feet to shot this guy. Come on now! And the Jack In The Box - this guy takes down a brick wall, kills this man to make it look like suicide and then bricks himself up behind a wall - way over the top! What are the chances this would or could happen in real life. Why is it that fat women in series - (Caroline Quentin in this one) have to eat in practically every scene. My theory is that it is a ploy to keep the view's eyes on that person - this is call scene stealing - very cheap. The main characters are not that interesting and rather dull. This is what I call mindless entertainment, but we have not reached that point in our lives to want to waste our time with them. Most series start out good and gradually get bad, but this one goes right to the bad.