Frayed is an Australian/British comedy, and its refreshing sense of gallows humor draws on the pessimism in both cultures.
Television
Television Review: “Love on the Spectrum” — Celebrating Autism
Love on the Spectrum is a trailblazing docuseries that dismantles myths about autism and romance.
Television Review: HBO’s “Perry Mason” — American Justice, with Loose Ends
The parallel plot — maybe the real plot — percolates just below the surface: the meta-textual challenge of figuring out how the HBO Perry Mason will morph into something resembling its CBS progenitor.
Television Review: “Fisherman’s Friends” — Corny, but Cornwall Shines
What makes this somewhat derivative movie soar is its music.
Television Review: “Bully. Coward. Victim: The Story of Roy Cohn” — A Soulless Man
Roy Cohn was much more pernicious than Joe McCarthy because he was far more adept at undercutting the relevance of so-called American values.
Television Review: ” I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” — True Crime, with Empathy for the Victims
To its credit, this “true crime” documentary treats the tragedy of each victim with empathy and respect.
Television Review: Delightfully Revived “Baby-Sitters Club” — More Than ’90s Nostalgia
During a period when we are facing a ferocious pandemic, the biggest Civil Rights movement since the ’60s, and the possibility of flying snakes, it is the perfect time to remake the cheery The Baby-Sitters Club.
Arts Commentary: “Hamilton” — Streaming on Disney Plus, Feeling Like You’re in the Room Where it Happened.
The opportunity to see the culture-changing Broadway phenomenon Hamilton on Disney Plus, sucked up all the arts oxygen over the Fourth of July weekend.
Television Review: “Beecham House” — A Steamy Passage to India
As a potentially thoughtful drama (hey, this is PBS) set during a revolutionary and colonialist era, Beecham House falls as flat as papadum.
Television Review: Hulu’s “Love, Victor” — Coming Out, Made Complicated
It has its flaws, but Love, Victor is a fun teen rom-com hat isn’t entirely rosy.