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Reviews
The Affair (2014)
Enjoyed Seasons 1 & 2 but not Season 3
I would have given Season 1 a "9" and Season 2 a "6", but since I gave Season 3 a "1", that averages out to a 5 or thereabouts. Season 1 was gripping and compelling because of the passion between the two characters, and the suspense of what would happen to them and their families, etc. Season 2 was still intriguing since the characters' lives were so out of control and, of course, there was a mystery to be solved. I'm mainly writing this review after watching Season 3 because I feel there are some "serious" questions left unanswered and I assume there is NOT going to be a Season 4. I just can't imagine what the writers could possibly come up with since "the affair" itself is long over and they've given a semblance of closure to a number of things at the end of Episode 10 in Season 3. However - now "Here Come the Spoilers!" - Season 3 has many episodes depicting Noah in prison, being taunted, abused, bullied and physically attacked by this guard named John Gunther, who he knew as a boy in high school. John Gunther supposedly was jealous of Noah's swimming skills back then and the fact that Noah made it out of their small town in PA and the fact that Noah went to college and made something of himself. So now, in prison, we are to believe that Gunther is extracting some kind of revenge on Noah. He injures Noah's shoulder so badly that Noah is prescribed Vicodin for the pain and subsequently becomes addicted. After prison, Noah notices Gunther following him and ultimately Noah is stabbed in his University housing and nearly dies. We can only assume that Gunther is the culprit. Later Gunther tries to run Noah off the road. But Noah is having a rough time and he's also hearing things and is becoming unstable. He goes to Gunther's house to confront him and Gunther disables him, but doesn't hurt him, as we would expect. Gunther also acts as though this is the first time he has seen Noah in 30 years. He appears to be a pretty decent guy who is just trying to live his life and take care of his wife and autistic son. Later we realize that Noah has imagined everything about Gunther and that Gunther was not the guy who stabbed him. Noah did that to himself. So here's a question: If everything we were shown about Gunther in prison was in Noah's mind, then how did Noah hurt his shoulder? Or was his shoulder even hurt at all? But if his shoulder wasn't hurt, then WHO originally wrote him a prescription for Vicodin that got him addicted in the first place - because that was not fake. He was definitely taking prescription drugs and somebody must have written the Rx. Another question: In the scene at the lake house, his neighbors tell him that property out there is NOT selling at all. They've been trying to sell their place for a long time and no one is buying. Noah is broke. So how does he have the money to suddenly pack up and go to Paris, rent an apartment and live for several months (Paris rents are astronomical) with no job. Are we to assume that Noah's father's place sold immediately when his neighbor's property wouldn't sell for months, if not a year? His father's place was a dump, so at best it would only be worth what a lot would be worth. But in ending this review - I just have to say that Season 3 was absolutely "agonizing" to sit through. My husband and I did sit through it, hoping each episode would get better, but they never did.
Hot Bench (2014)
This is more fun than Judge Judy!
My husband and I actually like this program more than Judge Judy. Part of the reason is because it's interesting to have the different judges ask their respective questions of the plaintiffs and defendants, plus it's fun to listen to them deliberate behind closed doors. They're fun personalities, too, although sometimes they get serious and scold the people who are before them. What's really fascinating is that some people go in, only asking for small amounts of money. What's up with that? Are they only interested in being on TV? Whatever.. it's really interesting to see what kinds of situations people can get themselves into.
Mail Order Bride (2008)
Entertaining, If You're Willing To Accept A Lot on Faith
This is a story about a woman named Diana McQueen, who is trapped in a toxic relationship with a con man named Tom Rourke, who more or less forces her to live a life of cheating men out of their money. She's sick of it and would like to escape, but she's been with him for so long, she really doesn't know how to get away, plus she knows he'd follow her and hurt innocent people in the process. A friend of hers has been corresponding with a rancher in Wyoming and plans to go there to be his mail order bride, so when the friend dies of TB, Diana decides to impersonate her friend and take her place. Consequently, she has to perform a con of an entirely different nature - that of being the girl the rancher has fallen in love with through her letters. The premise is intriguing and naturally the rancher has difficulties of his own to deal with, plus Tom Rourke isn't going to just forget about Diana without searching the entire West, so there's that to throw into the story line as well. What you have to accept here is that Daphne Zuniga is 47 years old and seems kind of old for what one would think of as a mail order bride. Not that she doesn't look good. Other things one must take on faith are the ability of Rourke's man to be able to track her down, and how willing other men are to break the law and ride with Rourke when he's a complete stranger to them and they have no reason to trust that he will actually pay them, yet they're willing to risk their lives for him? But if you can overlook obvious questions such as those, then you may very well enjoy the subtle humor that this charming Hallmark presentation offers.