There were some terrific dramas on television in 2024. Shogun (FX Networks/Disney+ in Canada) was a big budget movie a week, an impressive, uber subtitled effort and an example of Vancouver crew work at its finest. Kudos as well to Golden Globe nominated Hiroyuki Sanada as lead actor. Franklin, on AppleTV+, was another international, historical
In the year 2025, reviewing New Year’s Eve programming is still alive. Last night, hunkered down after an incredible dinner and with bubbily at hand, we flipped around like Canadian World Junior Men’s hockey fans jumping off the Team Canada bandwagon. First up was 22 Minutes: New Year’s Eve PreGame Special on CBC. The highlight
If you believe that those who fail to study history are doomed to repeat it, this is probably a very good time to watch Churchill at War. You can’t help but watch and not think: with dictatorships would-be kings and other autocratic leaders ascending to power around the world, where is the Churchill of today?
I’ve always been a big fan of Albert and David Maysles. The “direct cinema” documentatians went on to make Gimmie Shelter (1970) and Grey Gardens (1975). Before those films, the brothers captured lightning in a bottle with their black and white record of The Beatles first visit to America in February of 1964. Unlike The
There aren’t many stars who never wear out their welcome. One is Ted Danson, who I believe now has the record for most episodes in prime time for a leading actor on television. The 76-year-old broke out on Cheers over 40 years ago and helped define a golden age of TV sitcoms. Becker followed and
Near the end of Bill Brioux’s podcast interview with legendary TV writer Ken Levine, Bill asks his guest what TV he’s watching these days. Levine – whose writing credits include M*A*S*H, Frasier, The Simpsons, Everybody Loves Raymond and many others – could only come up with baseball and Jeopardy! I feel your pain, Ken. The
If you are a fan of The Beatles, all you need is love and a Disney+ subscription to get back to where you once belonged. Every couple of months seems to bring another documentary. The next one, Beatles ’64, begins streaming on November 29. It is produced by Martin Scorsese (too busy, it seems, to
Looking for something to stream you can hum along to? You can do no better than Music By John Williams, streaming now on demand on Disney+. The documentary is directed by French filmmaker Laurent Bouzereau (Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind) and produced by many of the people whose films Williams has enhanced, including Steven Spielberg,