Thanksgiving Tales, Part I

Before you start stuffing yourself on Thanksgiving Day you may want to ponder the origin of the holiday.  If you are not sure where to start, the National Geographic Channel's two-part miniseries Saints and Sinners, starting Sunday (November 22), will give you plenty to ponder.  

The series and accompanying facts on the website should help you to understand more about the period and related myths. For example, was Plymouth named after the place the Mayflower came from—Plymouth, England?  Oddly enough, no.  We learn:

Actually, the name “Plymouth” was already associated with the area before the Pilgrims ever set foot there. The New England coast had been mapped in 1614  by John Smith (of Pocahontas fame), and Prince Charles took it upon himself to give English names to various spots on Smith’s map. 

The fact that Plymouth, England, was the last town the Mayflower departed from is merely a coincidence. The ship had already been on its way to America when it was forced to stop at Plymouth after its companion ship, the Speedwell, started leaking irreparably and was ultimately left behind.

This series could make the holiday more meaningful and maybe even cause you to be thankful for a few additional things, such as your fortune to have missed settlement of New England. 

Amazon: The Man in the High Castle

I would say "set your DVR," but this is Amazon we are talking about. On Friday (November 20th) you can watch the complete first season of Amazon's new series The Man in the High Castle. And it should be impressive if the pilot is any guide.

Here is a summary of the plot from Philip K. Dick's book via Amazon:

It's America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some 20 years earlier the United States lost a war--and is now occupied jointly by Nazi Germany and Japan. This harrowing, Hugo Award-winning novel is the work that established Philip K. Dick as an innovator in science fiction while breaking the barrier between science fiction and the serious novel of ideas. In it Dick offers a haunting vision of history as a nightmare from which it may just be possible to awake. 

The pilot was fascinating in many ways, but in part because you were seeing the 1960s through a new lens. For while Dick wrote a present-day book in 1962, seen today it comes across as much more interesting because we are looking back at a well understood era with a horrible twist. Maybe it's easier to understand the devastating nature of what is being proposed when you know what was lost. The future is unwritten and so change is anticipated and unknown loss cannot be mourned.

I have viewed the pilot a few times and may need to do so again to ensure I am up to speed on the events and characters. But it is easy homework because the show is so watchable. I cannot say this about all past attempts to bring Dick's stories to the screen. Maybe Amazon got it right. Give the story time to unfold and carry us away.

Crackle: The Art of More

Crackle continues to add homemade programs to its entertainment line up and The Art of More may be its most ambitious to date. Starring Dennis Quaid, Christian Cooke, Cary Elwes, and Kate Bosworth, the series covers the drama surrounding an auction house.

I cannot remember a series like this in the past, and I'm glad Crackle is taking us somewhere new with an excellent cast. Is the story excellent as well? The jury is still out. 

Starting today, you can watch all 10 episodes and decide for yourself. The series is a big leap for a little "network," but it has Sony's backing so it has staying power. 

Apocalyptic Kung Fu

Tired of apocalyptic stories with zombies (The Walking Dead), power outages (Revolution), dying cities (Terra Nova), other scenarios? Well, how about walled cities, child soldiers, and kung fu?

AMC's Into The Badlands has these elements and more (premiering tonight).  Take a look at the trailer and read a little more:

Centuries from now, a feudal society has emerged in the wake of civilization's destruction. This area is now called the Badlands and is uneasily divided among seven rival Barons. Each Baron enforces their iron rule with the aid of loyal armies of trained assassins known as Clippers.

The most lethal of the Badlands’ Clippers is Sunny (Daniel Wu) -- the Regent (Head Clipper) and most trusted advisor of Baron Quinn (Marton Csokas). For decades, Quinn has been unchallenged as the Badlands’ most powerful Baron; however, the territory’s newest Baron, The Widow (Emily Beecham), has begun testing his appetite for a fight.

One day, Sunny rescues M.K. (Aramis Knight), a teenage boy who has survived a deadly ambush. Sunny soon comes to understand that the teen harbors a dark secret and has a hefty bounty on his head. Together, they will embark on an odyssey that could mean the difference between chaos and enlightenment for everyone in the Badlands.

I have not followed most of the genre, though I have found a few worth following, such as The 100. So I may give it a try. Even the end of the world can have its positive moments. 

We Are All Parisians

Esquire's Spotless

If you are okay with some brutality and a lot of blood, tonight's premiere of the Esquire Channel's new series Spotless may be your cup of tea. It's British you see and revolves around two brothers from France, one a drug runner and the other the clean-up man following bloody deaths.

Here is the full monty from Esquire:

A sexy and bold one-hour drama laced with dark humor and set in London, SPOTLESS is the story of a troubled man, Jean Bastiere (Marc-André Grondin) whose life is turned upside down when his outlaw brother, Martin (Denis Ménochet), crash lands into his world. Played out against the backdrop of Jean’s Crime Scene Cleaning business, the brothers must confront dark sins of the past and very real dangers in the present. Ensnared by mob boss Nelson Clay (Brendan Coyle), corruption, drugs and death pose a constant hazard. With Jean’s wife Julie (Miranda Raison), the entire family struggles to gain control over their lives and future.

I watched the pilot dreading too much blood yet it was not over the top. What captivated me was the excellent acting and well-paced plot. And Mr. Coyle, our friend from Downton Abbey, did not make an appearance in the pilot though his name was brought up. Given his mysterious association with dead bodies as a butler on his last series, Mr. Coyle may be ready for a more direct role in murder and mayhem. Stay tuned.

Coming Show: His Dark Materials

If you are a fan of Philip Pullman's fantasy series, and I am, you will be happy to hear that BBC One has committed to bringing the story to television.  You may remember the so-so film The Golden Compass, which covered the first book in the series.  I think BBC can do better by sharing the story of Lyra and Will over multiple episodes rather than a two-hour film.  Mr. Pullman's rich material needed more time than Hollywood could provide.  

I also do not know why the US market needs different names, such as The Golden Compass rather than the original Northern Lights.  The same thing happened with the first Harry Potter book, going from the British title Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to the American title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  What do we have against philosophers?  Did it sound too intellectual?  To British? And I read the third book in Pullman's trilogy, The Amber Spyglass, was censored for the US market because it dared to show Lyra experiencing puberty.  I expect the BBC to be more faithful to Mr. Pullman's vision since it will be made for a British audience that has no fear of sexuality (nor philosophers).

Speaking about the new series in an interview, Mr. Pullman noted:

In recent years we’ve seen the way that long stories on television, whether adaptations (‘Game of Thrones’) or original (‘The Sopranos, The Wire), can reach depths of characterisation and heights of suspense by taking the time for events to make their proper impact and for consequences to unravel.

I agree.  Mr. Pullman's trilogy deserves the full treatment, and I am confident BBC One can do it right.  Let's just hope US viewers do not get a censored version of the original again.