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Reviews
Arctic Air: Hijacked (2012)
Terrific guest actors tonight!
Wow -- it took me a while tonight to find out who played "Wade" so brilliantly in this episode, Hijacked!. A pivotal character, Wade held the entire crisis in the palm of his hand, and Bradley Stryker made him utterly real, complex and both terrifying and touching. Good stuff -- Bradley Stryker, was ably backed up by Luke Camilleri, another of the skilled guests enlivening the Arctic Air adventure tonight.
All the terrific regulars and even the smaller roles shone, as always. The other travellers on the plane, rig crew-members who are beyond eager to get to a city and its delights for lonely men, loaded the screen with testosterone and beery bellicosity, yet remained pretty reasonable in a fix. A hallmark of the series is becoming the individual authenticity of even its bit players, such as the RCMP officer who came to help out at the end.
EVERYTHING about this series simply gets better and better week after week. I've been a TV nut since the 1950's, so am easily put off and not so easily turned on to new shows. This one has me in its grip already!
Arctic Air: All the Vital Things (2012)
Loving each episode so far!
A veteran of many decades of topnotch TV drama, I am really LIKING this new adventure series so far.
It has built a sterling ensemble-cast creating complex, engaging, authentic characters -- even the bit players excel; exciting action-filled plots; superb filming and editing; witty writing; emotional depth (thanks for that, directors et al.) and, well, just well-honed skill -- all making for good stuff that keeps me hooked.
High hopes for its continuing success even though its intelligent treatment of viewers means it works best when we pay close attention. (Not so sure than many general viewers can do that anymore.)
Prime Suspect: Underwater (2011)
Best episode yet of this remarkable series
This is the best "translation" of a top-notch Brit series that has yet emerged from American TV. And this episode is its best demo of that fact so far.
As a discriminating TV drama fan for the past 50 years, since I was 16, I rate this particular episode titled "Underwater" as the sole USA TV series show to deserve a 10/10 since"Homicide: Life on the Street" produced a handful of absolutely perfect episodes. Others are excellent, even outstanding, but Prime Suspect (USA) is miles above them.
The story-line this week, even apart from its UK origin in the mind of Lynda LaPLante, was not original, but the rendition in her hands and Alexandra Cunningham's -- WOW, total brilliance, so perfectly made real by crew and cast.
An aside About two weeks ago there was a breathtaking shot unlike any other I've seen on TV drama -- a group-think among the detectives with the camera pointed 'through' an orange object that Timoney was holding, maybe even a mere carrot -- impact subtle and amazing.
Of course, Prime Suspect with this cast and these production values is simply too dang good -- subtle, low key, high tension, breathtaking in its depth -- for most middle of the road viewers to appreciate, so it seems NBC is letting it go. Crazy. Insane. Predictable. And utterly regrettable.
I'm hoping like mad that one of the classy networks that do get away with funding "haute yet accessible television drama" might pick it up and let it develop further.
If they have TV in the afterlife for deserving viewers, this series will be right up there alongside its Brit progenitor.