Peter Gerdine – Google

I disagree a bit with the comment that you have to know basketball to really appreciate or understand this series, although the commentary is otherwise spot on & even insightful. I've been a Carolina fan since the 1960s, before Jordan, before there were any Black players on the team, & I found many things in the series quite revealing: Michael's brief time with the White Sox, his decision to retire, his difficult relationship with Scottie Pippin (& Isaiah Thomas), his close relationship with his father, the gambling charges, & probably most of all, what made him tick.

I was pleasantly surprised! What's that? Not another hero worshipping flick about sports? The ordeal Roger Maris endured that glorious season when he broke The Babe's record comes through, painfully true to life, as does The Mick's injury woes & "Ball Four" life style. There are so many spectacular close-up shots of Maris & Mantle at the plate, also various pitchers on the mound, as well as solid performances by all the actors. The humanizing of the stolid Roger Maris, & his relationship with Mickey & his teammates was very well drawn out. I even cheered when 2 of my heroes, Al Kaline & Frank Lary of my beloved Tigers fell victim to the mighty Yankees!

I have found the episodes I have seen so far extreme compelling: the acting is superb, especially John Lithgow's astounding performance, really reincarnation of Winston Churchill, in all his glory & vulnerability in old age. The self portrait episode by itself is extraordinary. The performance of Elizabeth & her sister are both compelling, often riveting, but also problematic. I thought I knew, or at least thought I knew who or what each was, especially Margaret. The same could be said for Philip. The way he is portrayed here may well be unfair & unduly harsh, as one reviewer has charged, but overall, my sense of the people of Buckingham Palace, of that insular world, is literally a revelation. It often goes beyond mere snobbery or class prejudice, and as Winston's "modernist" portraitist said, the real person, the "individuality" of that person, is well hidden or even suppressed, for the good of the monarchy. I find that I am receiving a real "education" about British royalty & aristocracy, and bring disabused about my previous held views, especially Philip. The men as portrayed are generally less interesting than the women, whether because of the quality of acting or my own preconceived notions.

i love angela lansbury! She's ageless, classy, witty. A true class act! i will say, however, that the background music is often way over the top, drowning out the dialog. i also much prefer the episodes that take place in cabot cove. My other caveat relates to the amount of space devoted to backstage romance, sometimes overshadowing angela the sleuth & the crime being solved. Still, all in all, angela, her cabot cove friends & the whole cabot cove environment are a real delight! Well worth binge watching in the wee hours!

I think it’s all too easy to dismiss this movie as trite or cliche-ridden. Certainly there are elements of melodrama or predictable story lines, but what I found riveting & most impressive, gullible & hopeless romantic that I am, was Murphy’s performance. And I was most relieved when the grieving daughter decided to grow up and treat Mr. Church as a human being, all “privacy” issues aside, not that they weren’t without dramatic & psychological value. This is a side of Murphy’s talent that I have never seen, and it was impressive. Are there weak points in the movie? No doubt, but the overall performance of this wise guy comedian was for me a real eye & heart opener. But maybe I am just a hopeless, gullible romantic, less susceptible to the cynicism of other wannabe critics!