17 years after his award-winning documentary epic on the American Civil War, Burns took on “the good war” with his trademark approach: history from the perspective of the everyday humans who fought, died, and endured.
Tag: PBS
‘My Mother & Other Strangers’ – Growing up in wartime on Amazon Prime
Set in a rural Irish town during World War II, My Mother & Other Strangers (2017) is another British TV homefront drama, this one viewed through the memories of an adolescent boy. Francis Coyne (Michael Nevin) is the son of Rose (Hattie Morahan), who is London born and bred and treated like an outsider by […]
‘Victoria: Season 1’ on Amazon Prime
One-time Doctor Who companion Jenna Coleman ascends the throne in Victoria: Season 1, the British TV drama that chronicles the life and reign of young Victoria as she crowned Queen of England in 1837 at the age of 18. Created by veteran BBC producer and novelist Daisy Goodwin, the first season covers the first few […]
‘The Durrells in Corfu: Season 1’ on Amazon Prime
The Durrells in Corfu: Season 1 (2016) – Based on “The Corfu Trilogy,” a series of memoirs by respected naturalist, conservationist, and author Gerald Durrell, this British series follows the adventures of Louisa Durrell (Keeley Hawes), a newly-widowed mother of four children who moves her impoverished family from England to the sunny Greek island of […]
‘Mr Selfridge: The Fourth and Final Season’ on Amazon Prime
Mr Selfridge: The Fourth and Final Season of the PBS drama of an American department store magnate in London, jumps ahead eight years. Harry Selfridge (Jeremy Piven), dubbed “The Earl of Oxford Street” by the press, is living the high life, spending lavishly on the American showgirls The Dolly Sisters (whose flamboyant escapades invariably end […]
‘Grantchester: Season 2’ on Amazon Prime
Grantchester: Season 2 of the British crime drama based on the novels by James Runcie, about a young pastor who helps a veteran police detective solve murders in a rural town in the early 1950s, gets a little more personal. The first episode begins with Sidney Chambers (James Norton) accused of seducing a teenage girl […]
Happy Anniversary: ‘The National Parks: America’s Best Idea’ on Amazon Prime
On August 25, 2016, the National Parks Service turns 100. To celebrate the centenary of this great and necessary institution, I suggest checking out The National Parks: America’s Best Idea (2009) from America’s chronicler Ken Burns. This six-part, twelve-hour plus series explores not just the beauty and legacy of America’s National Parks, but the history […]
‘Mercy Street’ on Amazon Prime
Set in the Union-occupied city of Alexandria in the Confederate state of Virginia in the midst of the American Civil War, Mercy Street (2016) explores the conflicts between North and South through the uneasy interactions between the occupying Union forces and Northern doctors at a Union army hospital. Set up in what had been the […]
What to watch: Catch up with ‘Mercy Street’ on Amazon Prime
Hooked on the new PBS series Mercy Street or simply curious to see what the buzz is about? You can new stream new episodes of this American drama, set in a military hospital in the Union-occupied city of Alexandria in Confederate Virginia during the Civil War, a week after they debut on PBS. Josh Radnor, […]