danielrobbinsny Reviews

Not Necessarily the News (1982–1990)

The true dawn of brilliant television from HBO

[9/10 · 5 June 2023]

HBO was less than 10 years old when this first aired. I was a senior in high school when it started and used it as a guide to the world in my 20s.

I thought Wendie Jo Sperber had been in the cast, but I must be wrong about that.

Standouts I recall: Brooke Shields standing next to then VP George Bush and hearing her thoughts as they rambled --"Mrs. Bush. Mrs. George Bush. Mrs. Brooke Bush" and Spiro Agnew seated on an airplane next to pres Nixon (who was eating) and again, "hearing" his thoughts saying "oh my god i can't believe he didn't get me anything to eat ... I'm so hungry!"

But one of THE best skits was Nancy Reagan, taking a tumble in the bleachers of a tennis match -- then the camera pans down to someone under the bleachers sawing off one of her heels as she fell.

NNTN was so so SO funny. Oh the birth of cable. You were such an exciting time!

The Women (1939)

This movie sets precident.

[10/10 · 29 November 2022]

You are not allowed to be a gay man without the ability to name at least three characters and quote at least five lines from the film. That should be the law.

Joan Crawford's performance is only outdone by her performance in Mildred Pierce - She comes across as a real person here - most of her other characters have a rigidity that doesn't quite sell her.

The Countess DeLave is utterly timeless - and seemed to be the basis ofrs Dreysdale In the Beverly Hillbillies years later.

This is a timeless classic, as wonderful today as it was in 1939. The feat of magic that sold an all-woman cast is an example of how things should be today.

Halo (2022– )

Natascha McElhone is fantastic!

[8/10 · 4 April 2022]

She is one of the classiest and most beautiful woman I've ever seen! She's the main reason I wanted to see this show. Then Pablo Schrieber was shirtless and then that became the reason (kidding).

I have a hard time believing all these hateful reviews yet not one complaining about the AI named after Windows 10s search engine - Cortana. Cortana search is worse than paperclip search. Oh, but you'd have to watch m ore than 15 minutes before realizing that ...

Web Therapy (2011–2015)

Thank you, IMDB, for making this available!

[10/10 · 18 October 2020]

Everything about this show is absolutely brilliant. The stellar cast, the intelligent writing and most of all the eerie view of the future it presents. Who could have possibly imagined "web therapy" would have actually become a thing??

Marcella (2016–2021)

Love, Love, LOVE this!!!

[9/10 · 20 July 2020]

I fell in love with Ms. Friel in "Pushing Daises" and grew even more enamored with her in this. Seasons 1 and 2 follow similar "who's-dirtier-than-who" paths (equally disturbing main plots in both) Season 3 seems almost like a re-boot of the entire premise - and it worked!

The psychological trauma Marcells is plagued with adds tremendous depth to a character which otherwise could have not worked as well. The writing is terrific British cop melodrama. I do love when a show haunts me for several weeks after viewing - Marcella is still with me !!

Absentia (2017–2020)

Gripping drama

[9/10 · 20 July 2020]

I was pleasantly surprises to see Season 3 up on Amazon's site

This show is DARK. Not bleak, full of deapair or unaettling -- it's DARK. Picking up a few months (?) after S2, Emily is front amd center, getting banged up and flipping off authority whenever possible. I'm only 3 eps in so I can't really say a lot except it's clearly going to be as stress-inducing to watch as it's predecessors. I never watched Castle, so I'n not familiar with Stana's work there, but she def has the brooding cop thing down!

Technically, overall the visuals are a little brighter (not forcing me to brighten up the picture just to see what's going on) and the audio is better by normalizing dialogue.

Glad it's back - hope there is more, but nothing seems to make it past 3 seasons anymore.

Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2024)

Is Seth MacFarlane ...

[8/10 · 17 April 2020]

Writing all these negative reviews? That would make perfect sense. But ...

Bashing Discovery will not in any way help the Orville become a better show. It sure won't magically make it more original! Go back to focusing on Fam Guy, please? Such a better use of your talent!

Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2024)

Not understanding the hate ...

[8/10 · 17 April 2020]

But reading down a few more of the negative reviews sort of put things in perspective for me. One reviewer writes: "I used my free month of Netflix to watch this ..." then something about it being a waste. Well, that kind of explains the problem: Discovery is not on Netflix, so whatever the reviewer thinks he or she watched, it wasn't Discovery. But they left a hateful, LOOOOONG review just the same.

Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2024)

Welcome back to TV, Star Trek!

[8/10 · 17 April 2020]

If I only watched what got decent reviews on IMDB, I wouldn't watch anything. Ever. It's astonishing to read how the reviewers of Discovery try to pile the hate-on-hate to the point of making it a competition to see who can use the most words to say absolutely nothing.

The character Michael is the way she is because of her Vulcan upbringing - which, if you know anything about the series, is a pretty severe way of life. Traditionally any Vulcan character in the ST universe in solo mode is a know-it-all (who is usually right) with little to no tolerance of human emotion. Juxtapose that with a human brought up in that environment (with Sarek as a father, no less) and hence ypu have Michael. Being played perfectly by Sonequia Martin Green (from Walking Dead).

I'm only a few eps into season 1 -- and am utterly fascinated by how brutal and physically different the Klingons are. But nobody seems to be talking about that - just how BORED they are with it and what a disservice to the franchise ... Blah blah blah. I'm surprised nobody's complained about the amount of reading they have to do (Klingon translations)!

My point is this: watch it. Decide for yourself. Try to go into it with an open mind. It's entertainment. Let it entertain you.

The House of Flowers (2018–2020)

A nice surprise!

[9/10 · 21 August 2018]

My God, a new series not based on serial homicide or sci-fi? What a great surprise this is. I've learned to stop reading reviews before watching something - and this is the reason why!

Take a chance and watch it. In it's original Spanish language format. The voices need to be heard in their natural tone and cadence.

Bravo, Netflix!!