Writer Janet Mullany is from England, drinks a lot of tea, and likes Jane Austen, reading, and gasping in shock at costumes in historical TV dramas. Her household near Washington DC includes a badly-behaved cat about whom she frequently boasts.
BritBox
BritBox’s Suspect is not your typical British TV crime series. It’s the latest English language remake from Walter’s Choice head, Walter Iuzzolino’s production company, Eagle Eye Drama, a remake of the Danish series Face to Face (Forhøret), the original which debuted on PBS Passport in December
Movies
Director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre has created a miracle in Netflix’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover. She and screenwriter David Magee (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day) bring a romantic and feminist perspective to D. H. Lawrence’s troublesome 1929 novel. Leads Emma Corrin (The Crown) as Connie Chatterley and
Jane Austen
Since we’re only a few weeks from Jane Austen’s birthday (December 16), let’s start with a BBC documentary, Pride and Prejudice: Having a Ball, currently available on Acorn TV. Released in 2013, to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice, the documentary
Starz
Starz is on a bit of a French history bender following The Serpent Queen, going from the Tudor and Elizabeathan era to its version of pre-revolutionary France in Dangerous Liaisons. Despite sharing a name with the famous 1988 film adaptation, Starz’s new eight-part series is actually a
Starz
The eighth and final episode of Starz’s The Serpent Queen opens with Catherine’s maid Rahima in the forest looking for Ruggieri. She betrayed his location to Mary in exchange for her freedom. No surprise then that he holds a knife to her throat as she examines the wreck
Starz
It’s the penultimate episode of The Serpent Queen, and Catherine’s narration of events has almost caught us up to the present. However, we start with a different point of view in this episode when Rahima, still imprisoned, receives a visit from Mary Stuart de Guise, there to recruit
Starz
Episode 6, “The Last Joust,” of The Serpent Queen opens with an ominous, twisted fantasy. An injured King Henri is carried on a bier by Montmorency and Francois. The processional is followed by Catherine and Diane, walking hand in hand. The two women turn to each other; the series seems
The Serpent Queen
Episode 5 of The Serpent Queen opens as Catherine de Medici and her favored maid Rahima stroll in the forest. In fitting with the series’ fairytale themes, the forest is so often the place where bad things happen, and where supernatural beings roam. Rahima spots a man, or a creature,
Starz
We return to The Serpent Queen as Rahima, the personal maid to Catherine de Medici, is testing her power. The cook, who Rahima punished, has been demoted to scrubbing floors, whereas Rahima’s promotion now includes her own room. As Rahima takes Catherine’s breakfast tray to her chamber, she
The Serpent Queen
The excitement at the end of last week's episode, it turns out, wasn't because of a death. Catherine fooled us into expecting a poisoning, but it was an explosion in the kitchen. The cook, who loaded the tampered bread pan into the oven, is injured, and
The Serpent Queen
At the beginning of this week's episode, The Serpent Queen reveals Rahima has been appointed personal maid to Catherine de Medici, a significant rise in status and salary, new clothes, and more opportunities to learn deadly secrets. It appears the Queen tolerates her company, despite knowing she stole
Movies
Directed by Eva Husson and adapted from Graham Swift’s 2016 novella by writer Alice Birch (Lady Macbeth), Mothering Sunday, with its first-rate cast and stunning cinematography, covers what at first seems some very familiar ground. There are the Downton Abbey-esque upper-class families dealing with their grief