I've finished two series in the past few days.
The first was
Shardlake on Hulu for free. (I think this is the same as
@paranoid marvin speaks of above.) I did not know it was based on a book, but that does not surprise me. The opening scenes of the series seem to presume some knowledge of who and what which were not at that time known from the revealed plot. I thought the detective stuff was pretty good given the limitations of the era (Henry VIII). I didn't realize how much I've come to expect scientific or deductive reasoning in my detective shows. The reasoning was mostly based social expectations of what was "good" or "bad" behavior, which all seemed pretty nebulous to me. The ending was not the kind of ending I prefer but pretty true to life in spite of my frustration with it.
Much to my disappointment I found the fact that there was a black African playing the Abbot to be off-putting. I doubt that there were any black Africans in such church positions in that day but why should that matter to me? It's only someone playing a role, (and very well I might add) should the color of their skin play a role. Decidedly not! But somehow it did, making me hang my head in shame.
Avoid --- Not Recommended --- Flawed
--- Okay --- Good --- Recommended --- Shouldn’t be Missed
The second was
Franklin on Apple TV+. This is the story of Benjamin Franklin in France as he sought to work an alliance with the French during the American Revolution. This was obviously well researched. I did not see anything in it that I was sure was a total fabrication, but a fair amount of poetic license was taken. I thought the feel of France at this time was pretty much spot on. The upper classes were abusing their privileges and didn't really have a clue about life in the lower end of the spectrum. And were doing some really stupid things to "keep up appearances." Although Michael Douglas does not look much like the historical Franklin, somehow he seemed to me to have imbibed his character. I think the series would have been much improved if more time had been spent on the meat of the negotiations, what was at stake, and how this was effecting France, instead of so much focus on the life Franklin and his grandson (only one of the two that went along with Franklin) but I suppose it did help to create the detached feeling from the war while being critical for its success. This was filmed in such a way to give the feel of living in the late 18th century. A lot of it was actually filmed by candlelight. I'm not sure how much makeup the French Uppercrust wore in that day, but there was a lot of it in the film. John Adams with all the makeup reminded me of the Joker which was certainly disconcerting for the story.
I'm glad I watched it, but I wouldn't call it great.
Avoid --- Not Recommended --- Flawed --- Okay
--- Good --- Recommended --- Shouldn’t be Missed
