hiphats Reviews

The Thorn Birds (1983)

The "Gone With The Wind" of the Australian outback

[2 May 2004]

Upon my initial viewings, this moved me. It is an emotionally charged drama of forbidden love, scandal and tragedy that teaches a very powerful lesson...that we, as a human race, are all doomed to destruction, each generation repeating the mistake of the one before (remember Rev. Jim Jones himself said "those who cannot remember history are doomed to repeat it").

This miniseries was the Australian outback's answer to "Gone With The Wind". Only this time it's Cardinal DeBricissart (Richard Chamberlin) that's the Scarlett O'Hara and Meggie Cleary (Rachel Ward) that's the Rhett Butler. And yes, it cries for a sequel that can never be made. And yes, not all love stories have happy endings.

And there are some sequences that do not depend on a music score, such as the touching climactic scene with Meggie and Justine in the barn.

But that's just what makes a miniseries a classic. This is not some cheap-skate adaptation of a best selling book...this is the way novels should be made.

Battlestar Galactica (2003)

Battlestar Gone Crap-tica

[16 December 2003]

This is one series that should not have been remade. I was expecting a more extravagant remake using the most up-to-date effects and an enhanced story. Instead, we have a four-hour miniseries that just slows like a turtle, the action kept to a minimum...it just seems like an empty experience.

The only saving grace comes from James Edward Olmos in the late Lorne Green role of Adama. He takes on the role more tougher than Green did, and that makes his role.

Perhaps if the film had been trimmed to three hours, it possibly would have made a better film.

Fleeing from the tyranny of cable, the last Battlestar, Galactica, leads a rag-tag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest...to be the Battlestar it was 25 years earlier.

Skip this one at all costs.

Amos 'n' Andy: Anatomy of a Controversy (1983 TV Movie)

Guys, what's the big idea about "Amos N' Andy"?

[22 June 2003]

I'm surprised there has not been any other documentary about a television show that I see today as being years ahead of its time. This program tells you only the basics of the history of the legendary television show, but it is enough to make you think.

The show was produced in 1986, involving some of the then-surviving cast. Seeing this show today as I did in a recent rerun on the TRIO network, those voices still speak to us. There are enough clips from the original show to remind you of a time when life was so innocent, when all we can do is just watch a show and laugh without looking at the negative issues that surround this show even to this very day.

This program contains a condensed version of a selected series episode where Kingfish buys what turns out to be a movie lot. Even in its condensed form, this episode is just a little reminder of classic television at its best...this, of course, was before "I Love Lucy" went on the air and became a success of its own.

The narrator, George Kirby, is right...we should see "Amos N' Andy" for what it is...a show that paved the way for the African-American television shows that have followed since the show's original cancellation. Controversy may still keep reruns of the "Amos N' Andy" show off the air, but if everyone in the world followed Mr. Kirby's example, perhaps CBS will change their minds and release it officially on video.

So, to sum it all up, 'guys, what's the problem? Why make a mountain out of a little molehill?' That mountain has grown for almost four decades...let's appreciate "Amos N' Andy" in a positive light.

I highly recommend you see this show the next time it's telecast and judge for yourself.