TV Review "Salem"

Sometime in the Mid-1980's, Uncle P appeared as Judge Danforth in a rather excellent (if I say so myself) production of Arthur Miller's 1953 play The Crucible. While based on real historical events, Miller's play was actually a condemnation of Senator Joe McCarthy's attempt to paint all artists, gays and liberals as Communists. And undoubtedly, a small demographic of them, were. 

Flash forward 71 years. Cable network WGNAmerica has taken the true story of one of early America's darkest bits of history and turned it into an intriguing genre show which posits that witches were/are real and that 17th Century Salem was a hotbed of their satanic activities. Spoilers ahead.

Seething hottie Shane West ("Nikita;" "ER") is John Alden, in love with the beautiful Mary (Janet Montgomery). When the sadistic Magistrate George Sibley sends Alden off to fight in the French/Indian war, he leaves behind a pregnant Mary who asks her servant Tituba to relieve her of her condition. Seven years pass and when Alden returns to Salem (after having been declared dead), he finds his love married to Sibley and the town in the grip of witch fever. Alden's childhood contemporary Cotton Mather (beautiful "Fringe" alum Seth Gabel) is leading the war against the witches, using young Mercy Lewis to point out the witches who supposedly torment her.

While I could find no credit for the series' creator, I must commend the writers for doing their research and incorporating historical figures from the well-documented Salem Witch Trials into their tale. John Alden; Cotton Mather; Mercy Lewis; Reverend John Hale; Tituba and Giles Corey ('pressed" to death by a pile of stones) were all real people who took part in the trials, either as judges, accusers or the accused. Of course, in this fictional version of events, the witches (now led by Mary Sibley) use their powers to deflect suspicion onto other members of the community. In this version Alden is the skeptic, intent on proving the superstitious townsfolk are wrong, even after he's seen evidence to the contrary while still in love with the now evil Mary Sibley (who houses her familiar toad in her supposedly infirm husband's gut).

 

In real life, the Salem Witch Trials had more to do with land-grabs and power-plays than the supernatural. In the WGN version, the opposite holds true. While I found the series' writing to be clever and original, I was a bit put-off by the acting which seemed rather stilted in deference to the period depicted.  It seemed to me that most of the actors gave over to style, rather than truth, despite the mostly excellent production values and special effects. Still, I can't complain about the entertainment value the show provided and must imagine that those not fully familiar with the actual history will be engaged on a very different level than myself. 

Personally, I am looking forward to seeing where the series goes. *** (Three Out of Four Stars)

This is one new Summer series I'll be watching. If your cable provider has WGN (unlike several of my friends and family members), I recommend "Salem" for nothing else than it's high entertainment value.

More anon,
Prospero

Channeling Bruce

I can't believe that I haven't written about this season's version of "American Horror Story: Coven" before now. Because holy hot hell, this show is on fire (literally) this season. 

I suppose because they are the most visible, I should start by talking about the cast. I don't know a director who wouldn't gladly give up a yank of hair or a few drops of blood to work with any and all of the amazing actors who've ever been a part of this show, but this cast in particular is... well, a director's wet dream. 

First off, there's the returning ensemble, headed by the astonishing Jessica Lange as the 'Supreme' Salem witch, Fiona and last season's star, Sarah Paulson as her daughter, Cordelia. Season one's burn victim (the highly underrated character actor Denis O'Hare) is back, this time as a cross-dressing, tongueless, necrophiliac version of Riff-Raff along with Taissa Farmiga as Zoe, the obvious 'Supreme-in-Waiting;' Lily Rabe as the Stevie Nicks-obsessed healer Misty; Jamie Brewer as a telepath with Downs; Evan Peters as the Teenage Frankenstein Frat Boy with rage issues and the glorious Frances Conroy in crazy flowing costumes, cat's eye spectacles and a crimped-to-death ginger fright-wig, as Fiona's mortal enemy Myrtle. 

As if that wasn't enough, add Academy Award winner Kathy Bates as the most vile woman in the history of New Orleans who has been cursed with eternal life by Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau (Angela Bassett!); Academy Award nominee Gabourey Sidibe as a 'Human Voodoo Doll;' Emma Roberts as a Pyrokenetic; gay imp Leslie Jordan as a member of the coven's High Council and Patti Freakin' Lupone as the holier-than-thou Uber-Christian new neighbor... Every director in Hollywood should be pounding on Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuck's door, begging on their knees and offering up blood sacrifices to direct an episode of this show.

Of course, the best cast and director in the world mean little if the writing isn't up to snuff. Season One was daring and amazing and creepy and sexy and fairly linear, with glimpses into the past to fill in the gaps while maintaining a fairly singular plot. Season two, on the other hand -- while still amazing -- was a bit all over the place, taking on too many subjects for one story. There was alien abduction; sadistic nuns; demonic possession; Nazi experiments; lesbian empowerment and two serial killers!

'Coven' marks a return to the more focused story line of season one, this time telling the story of an old rivalry between witches forced to move south from Salem and the Voodoo witches who followed, soon after. Fiona is the headmistress of a witch boarding school, run in her long absence by Cordelia. When Zoe (Farmiga) is brought to the school after killing her boyfriend with sex, Fiona returns and all sorts of hell breaks loose. This season's writing team has just amped it up again, giving these incredible actors some powerful scenes and unironic (unless it needs to be) genre dialog.

Which brings me to why this post is titled "Channeling Bruce."  

SPOILERS AHEAD 

Last week's Halloween episode ended with Cordelia having acid thrown in her eyes at a bar while the school was surrounded by zombies raised by Marie in revenge for the death of the minotaur Bastian.  This week, while Fiona waited at the hospital for word on Cordelia, Zoe stepped up and took control at the school. And as Fiona was wandering the hospital and resurrecting a dead child for another grieving mother, Zoe took up a chainsaw and went nuts on the zombies, channeling Bruce Campbell in his most gloriously blood-covered glee and all I could think was "Zoe went Ash on AHS!" Too much?

Holy crap, I almost forgot about Danny Huston! Keep the brilliance coming, boys! So glad that FX has already announced Season 4!  I can think of a certain East Coast legend they could explore...

If you aren't watching "American Horror Story: Coven," you're missing some truly extraordinary television. Forgive me for repeating myself, but I really want to see what happens when other genres take up AHS' 'repertory' format. And I really can't wait to see what other powerhouse actors show up for Season 4!

More, anon.
Prospero

I. Can't. Wait.

Click Image to Enlarge

FOX's "Sleepy Hollow" was a happy surprise for both myself and many people I know, and while I am looking forward to several other new shows this season there are a few returning favorites that have me absolutely chomping at the bit to see. 

First up is Ryan Murphy's amazingly-creative-and-creepy television experiment's third season which starts on October 9th. "American Horror Story: Coven." is set in both contemporary New Orleans and Historical Salem, exploring yet another Horror trope with what looks like another season of amazing; puzzling; creepy; original and arresting visuals, story lines, characters and performances from a cast that makes me just a little more excited than a man my age should ever get over a TV show. Returning are the astonishing Jessica Lange; Lily Rabe; Francis Conroy; Taissa Farmiga; Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters. And joining them are some powerhouse talents: Angela Bassett; Kathy Bates (!!); Christine Ebersole (!!) Emma Roberts; Danny Houston (!!) and Pattie effng Lupone (!!!!!). Add a war between Good & Evil Witches to the potential for exponential insanity and you have yourself what has so far been one of the best and most provocative genre series, ever.

Here are all seven Season 3 teasers:



And the first Season 3 promo with dialog, "School:"

And I don't think I need to say how much I am anticipating the Season Four premiere of AMC's "The Walking Dead" (the producers of which just announced a spin-off - oh, excuse me: "Companion" series - for 2014). While I will happily admit that Season Three was better than Season Two, neither was as good as the amazing Season One.It seems like the producers are listening to the fans and upped the ante this season. My mother is actually antsy for it's return.

NBC's dark-humored fantasy "Grimm" ended with our beautiful intrepid hero zombified while in the clutches of a voodoo priest. A co-worker whom I truly adore watches because her husband watches and calls it "The Grimm." It's another show Mom surprisingly loves - and I love that she's finally come to appreciate quality genre works. She was a huge "Fringe" and "Lost" fan and I'm so glad she's expanded her horizons. We know Nick is going to escape and recover from whatever Baron Samedi has done to him, but that's hardly the point. It's clever and campy and imaginative with a terrific ensemble cast and usually well-executed (and often hilarious) CGI transformation FX. But like any good show, story is king and the mythology is both well-constructed and unfolding in a way that makes complete sense. But most importantly, "Grimm" never takes itself too seriously, which helps to make it both endearing and interesting.

Outside of Genre shows, I am also looking forward to the return of CBS's Law and Politics drama, "The Good Wife." Another dream cast of exceptionally talented actors and a brilliant writing team make "The Good Wife" so worth DVR'ing. 

There are a few others I'm looking forward to seeing return and at least one or three I don't understand why they are returning at all. There are also lots of new shows this season that I'll write about the next time I write about TV (which will probably be soon).

In the meantime, what shows are you excited to see returning this fall?

More, anon.

Prospero

We're Not in Omaha Anymore, James

A few months ago, Disney released a rather impressive trailer for director Sam Raimi's Oz: The Great and Powerful, a prequel to the most beloved fantasy film of all time, The Wizard of Oz. Unlike Gregory Maguire's political satire Wicked, which explores the relationship between the the witches of Oz before the arrival of Dorothy, Raimi's film delves into the arrival of the Wizard into the land of Oz. 

The sexually ambiguous James Franco is Kansas magician Oscar Diggs who finds himself transported to Oz where he meets  the witches Theodora (Mila Kunis); Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams) who draw him into a power play for control of Oz. Today, Disney released the full trailer, and it looks nothing less than magnificent.

Raimi (despite Spider-Man 3) remains one of my all-time favorite modern directors. He has a very distinctive visual style and a rather twisted sense of humor (which is quite apparent in his brilliant horror movies Evil Dead II and  Drag Me to Hell). Personally, I can't wait for his take on L. Frank Baum's iconic characters. 

Of course, I'm one of the few people who loved Disney's 1985 film Return to Oz, a rather dark sequel to the original, which stuck much closer to Baum's novels than the 1939 classic and introduced audiences to a young Fairuza Balk, who would later go on to become a Goth film icon.

Disney is banking on Raimi to create an Oz franchise with this new film, though I'm guessing that the film version of the Steampunk-inspired musical based on Maguire's novel will be the movie to move the story forward given Maguire's two sequels to his original novel.

More, anon.
Prospero