April 2, 2007

April ’07 Pix & Pans

Our duo suggests an eighth of Henry.

By Maggie Bellville and Seth Arenstein

Listen to Seth and Maggie on The Tudors - click here to download the podcast.

The Tudors

Showtime, April 1, 10 p.m.

MAGGIE: The Tudors has a bit of an epic quality to it — it’s lavishly filmed with a very sensual, erotic feel. The cast is as gorgeous as it is wicked. There is no innocence to be lost in this historical piece, where even a young princess attacks her equally juvenile suitor. The knock on The Tudors is its somewhat fractured story line. Without knowing the history of the period, it is sometimes hard to follow the plot. GRADE: A-

SETH: It’s not a surprise that Showtime’s been promoting this series for months. It cost a king’s ransom to lure Jonathan Rhys-Meyers from the big screen to play Henry the VIII in Showtime’s most expensive series. It was worth every farthing. Besides gorgeous photography and costumes, the political and personal relationships in and out of the castle sizzle like great Shakespeare. But can Henry dethrone Tony Soprano on Sundays come April 8? My kingdom for a DVR! GRADE: A-

Listen to Seth and Maggie on Sons of Hollywood - click here to download the podcast.

Sons of Hollywood

A&E, April 1, 10 p.m.

MAGGIE: What a great escape from real life. When these famous sons (Rod Stewart’s Sean and Aaron Spelling’s Randy) move into a house with their agent David Weintraub, it’s to get out from under their fathers’ shadows and make names for themselves. Their life seems charmed, but when Spelling gets the call that his father’s health is rapidly failing, one realizes that no matter how famous one is, "real" life always gets in the way. GRADE: B-

SETH: A&E would be hard-pressed to find a series whose premise could be less appealing to me. Yet A&E knows its business. It’s become far younger with reasonably well-made reality series like this. After all, there’s an audience that wants to see dudes with celeb dads cruising long-legged ladies at clubs, hitting Vegas and trying to make it in showbiz. Sound like Entourage? It should, and it’s also another step in the HBO-ization of A&E. GRADE: B

Listen to Seth and Maggie on Hustle - click here to download the podcast.

Hustle

AMC, April 18, 10 p.m.

MAGGIE: This is witty, sophisticated fun — a cross between I Spy and the Ocean’s Eleven and Twelve films. Remember Robert Vaughn? He looks great and plays a terrific part as the senior con man. It’s complex and requires focus — not a show to drift in and out. There are multiple con games going and multiple con men and women who are pretty and smart; and the dialogue is crafty. It’s an eight-episode romp, so sit back and enjoy. GRADE: B

SETH: BBC’s Hustle was a subtle and sophisticated series last season, accentuated by its London locale. Now it’s an AMC-BBC co-production, with some U.S.-based plots, and the initial episodes are slightly disappointing. Ep 1 finds our loveable con men and woman bemoaning their erstwhile leader. I moaned, too. The loss of Adrian Lester’s Mickey may have created an irreplaceable gap. Still, a less effective Hustle is far better than none at all. GRADE: B+

Listen to Seth and Maggie on A Life Interrupted - click here to download the podcast.

A Life Interrupted

Lifetime, April 23, 9 p.m.

MAGGIE: This is a powerful drama about Debbie Smith, a shy Virginia housewife who helped eliminate the nationwide backlog of untested DNA kits. After a brutal rape, she lived for years in fear, only to find that her assailant was in jail and the DNA test in limbo. It took the state nearly six years to identify her rapist. Eventually Debbie agreed to lobby Congress on the importance of DNA testing. It is a sad yet triumphant story that makes us feel sorry for Debbie and thankful for her. GRADE: B+

SETH: This is a strong piece on an important topic, but Lifetime missed the bigger story. How could the authorities have allowed the DNA technology that would greatly assist rape convictions go unfunded for years as thousands of rape kits sat untested in warehouses? What took Congress so long to act? Debbie Smith’s courage to allow her story to be used by Hill lobbyists is admirable and her rape was tragic, but a more critical tale went untold. GRADE: B