Long Bright River: Family Feud, Serial-Killer Style

I binged Long Bright River over the weekend.  It's a police procedural thriller about a serial killer preying on the women on the "Ave" in Philadelphia, and it packs quite a punch.  It's brilliantly acted -- especially by Amanda Seyfried, who first became known in Big Love, and then in Mamma Mia, and is now clearly a world-class, unique actor -- with a supporting case that includes Dash Mihok (one of Ray Donovan's brothers), Nicholas Pinnock (Counterpart), and John Doman (who has starred in everything).

But that's not what I liked most about this short series on Peacock, which had the good sense to put it all up at once, because that's the way it needs to be seen.  [And here I'll say that there are no spoilers ahead, believe or not.]

But what I liked most about this series is the human side of its story.  All serial killer stories -- true or fictitious (which I read is the story on Long Bright River) -- have an inescapable human side, if only in the impact that the killings have on the victims' families.  But Long Bright River really goes into this in-depth, with a brilliant boy on the spectrum (Thomas, superbly played by Callum Vinson), his great-grandfather (John Doman's role), a former nun (played by Harriet Sansom Harris) who makes a simply wonderful babysitter, and all manner of tangled parent-child, and sister relationships.

And the story ain't bad, either.  Why is this current Jack-the-Ripper going after drug-addicted women who work in the sex-trade to pay for their addiction?   Is the killer really a cop, and, if so, which one?  There are no shortage of cop suspects in this narrative.

Now, I actually guessed who the killer was in the very first episode of this eight-episode series.  And I'm still raving about what an excellent series Long Bright River is, powerful on so many levels.  That's an indication in itself of why I say don't miss this series, you'll be glad you watched it.

Longmire Season 6: Out From Under His Hat

Longmire certainly saved the best for its last season - 6 - which was better in every way than any of the previous seasons, including Walt Longmire finally getting out from under his hat, not just emotionally but physically, in lots of scenes in which he wasn't wearing that iconic sheriff's hat.

[spoilers ahead] ....

Whether his successor, daughter Cady aka Punk will wear a hat on the job at all remains to be seen, but probably not.  She'll also differ from her father in not getting into too many physical altercations (except maybe swinging a stake), and likely not shooting too much, either, but we'll need a sequel series to find out.

She'll have three able deputies - assuming she's elected - including Vic, which raises an interesting question.  She would find it very difficult to have a relationship with Walt if he continued as sheriff, because she can't bear to think of the danger of death he'll always be facing.  But how is Walt ok with that for Vic?

I guess Vic might try to be more cerebral, like Cady, but that's not really Vic's style.  Or maybe Vic will retire, too, but I can't quite see that, either. Well, at least the Ferg is well on his way to becoming a top-notch lawman, and Zach's sharp and tough, too.  Still, it's a little hard to see how this future sheriff's office will work, and that's testament to how hard it will be to replace Walt's, which was so good, despite and because of all the turmoil.

The Cheyennes were also better this season than before for all kinds of reasons.  It was great to see Mathias and Walt working together most of the time, instead of at odds.   Henry is also better as Walt's closest friend and ally, where he belongs, rather than lying to him for whatever good reason  in the previous season.  And even Nighthorse had his best season, coming to Walt's aid in the trial, and even being almost heroic at the end.

Longmire was a wonderful modern-day Western, a worthy successor to Cade's County, and at this point in a class of its own as a narrative for our time, in a beautiful but inevitably dangerous place where few of us actually live but we all inhabit metaphorically.

Great acting by Robert Taylor, Katee Sackhoff, Lou Diamond Phillips, Cassidy Freeman, Adam Bartley, A Martinez, Zahn McClarnon, Barry Sloane, and good to see Dylan Walsh, John Doman, and Peter Weller in short but powerful threads too.

See also Longmire Season 5 on Netflix

The Affair 1.2: Time Travel!

No, there wasn't any actual time travel in last night's The Affair 1.2, but Noah was sure talking about it to Alison in a pivotal scene, and he got the multiple worlds solution to the grandfather paradox just right, kudos to the writers.  (See my 2-minute explanation of this business on Vidoyen earlier this year.)

Meanwhile, there was an important convergence of the Noah and Alison renditions of the story of their affair near the end, when, for the first time, it's clear that Alison is as attracted to Noah as he is to her.  When he tells her he's been thinking about her all week, and asks if she's been going through the same, she replies, in a sultry, vulnerable voice, "Of course."  Two crucial words in this ongoing story.

The overarching mystery of the death - not only who did the murder, if that's what it was, but who was murdered - continues to loom menacingly in the background.  I was pretty sure after the first episode that it was Cole - Alison's husband - but now I'm not so sure.  Maybe it was one of Cole's brothers - perhaps the one who was on the verge of doing something with Noah and Helen's underage daughter - but who knows.  It could also be Helen's father, played as a consummate a-hole by John Doman (his specialty, I mean that as a compliment), who clearly has a list of enemies, with Noah on the list.  Or it could be Cole after all.

But the slowly unfolding story of Noah and Alison, and their attraction to each other, remains the appealing centerpiece of this series, beautifully played and evocatively photographed, and shown at the perfect time, when the summer has just gone from North America, and with it the sand and the water and the sun all above it which is shown to such good effect on The Affair.

See also The Affair Premiere: Sneak Preview Review ... The Affair 1.3: The Agent and the Sleepers ... The Affair 1.4: Come Together ... The Affair 1.5: Alison's Episode ... The Affair 1.6: Drugs and Vision ... The Affair 1.7: True Confessions ...  The Affair 1.8: "I Love You / I Love You, Too" ... The Affair 1.9: Who Else on the Train? ... The Affair Season One Finale: The Arrest and the Rest

podcast review of every 1st season episode

The Cast of The Wire at the Paley Center

Here is a video of a panel that took place the other day at the Paley Center for Media in New York City.  The panel featured prominent cast members from The Wire.  At a little over an hour, this is the best panel I've ever seen - in this case, online - but also in person.



Watching this also cemented my view that The Wire is the single best show ever to have been on television.   I don't say that lightly - in their own ways, The Sopranos, 24, Breaking Bad, other shows including and even Lost in its good moments were superb.   But none quite compare to The Wire, for reasons that become clear, I think, in this panel discussion.  The only proviso is that the panel is replete with spoilers.  So, if you haven't seen The Wire - all five seasons - don't look at this panel video until after you do.

Part of the pleasure of watching this panel is thinking about how all of these stars first became known to me on The Wire, and have gone on to the other memorable roles.  But every time I see one of them, I say to my wife, hey, that guy was on The Wire ... Wendell Pierce in Treme and Ray Donovan, Michael Kenneth Williams in Boardwalk Empire, Lance Reddick (who wasn't on the panel, alas) on Fringe, Dominic West (also not on the panel) in The Affair, Chad Coleman (also not on the panel) in The Walking Dead, and Idris Elba in Luther and great movies such as Long Walk to Freedom, for which he deserved an Oscar but wasn't even nominated.   The list goes on and on - making The Wire a veritable directory of great actors in dozens of shows since then.  The Wire has seeded television with superb acting for almost a decade now.

My reviews of last season of The Wire, usually written shortly after the episodes were aired for the first time, follow ...

The Wire's Back! Review of Season 5 Episode 1 and Episode 2: The Great, Dangling Conversation ... 3. McNulty and Marlo ... 4. One Down ...5. Media Chasing Their Own Tales and Tails ... 6. Superman Omar and Tall Stories ... 7. King of Diamonds ... 8. Two Down ... 9. Cold, Killer Sweetheart ... The Wire Bows Out Gracefully: Kudos to the Cast and David Simon, the Charles Dickens of Television

See also this earlier Looking Back at the Wire

Two podcast episodes about The Wire -


    The Wire without Stringer        |   The Wire Season 4

Damages Concludes Season 2 with Great Acting and Surprises

Tip-top Season 2 finale for Damages on FX last night, with some excellent surprises.

We've been treated for the whole season to scenes of Ellen shooting Patty. At first, we didn't know it was Patty. But then we saw Patty was indeed the person Ellen was talking to, and, worse, waving a gun at. In the past few episodes, we've seen Patty staggering out of the apartment, bleeding ... and the FBI guy phoning in that Ellen had shot Patty.

But could Ellen really have killed Patty like this? She had motive - she was sure that Patty had tried to kill her last year. But would she shoot Patty, unprovoked, at point blank range?

Turns out, in a well-plotted and motivated twist, that Ellen didn't shoot Patty at all - she fired over her head. So why was Patty bleeding? She had been stabbed in the elevator on the way to see Patty, which also explains why she had looked so shaken during her ensuing conversation with Ellen.

Also surprising but well motivated and very satisfying was the way Wes (well played by Timothy Olyphant) not only walked away from killing Ellen, but became her defender, and even saved Patty's life (after the FBI guy left to bleed to death in the elevator on the way down, after Ellen had left).

So Damages can chalk up a second powerful season. With especially superb acting this year by William Hurt and John Doman - who was great as the Acting Commish on The Wire - speaking of which, it was good to see Clarke Peters (the incomparable Freamon on The Wire) play a political, ruthless bad guy this time on Damages.

Other special shoutouts - SNL's Darrell Hammond as the demented killing machine the Deacon - I hope he comes back next year. Ted Danson was great again as Frobisher, and Michael Nouri as Patty's husband (now thrown out, like just about everyone else in Patty's life). Rose Byrne was attractive as Ellen, but the character felt a little more limited in range than in the first season. (It may well that she won't be back in the 3rd season).

Glenn Close was incomparable this season, as she was last, and I'm looking forward to more of this in Season 3.



See also: Lying about Damages ... 2.2: A Good World of Hurt ... Damages 1-10

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The Plot to Save Socrates



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