Maestro in Blue The Diplomat

Treason Anatomy of a Scandal

Since Amazon’s Prime Video is limiting the number of free movies and going more to pay-per-view, I have been streaming more on Netflix. Not that I like their movies more, but they were better than Peacock+, Paramount, and Starz. I subscribed to all three and quit. In fact, I’ve been binge-watching mini-series soap operas and mysteries that run on for 6 - 8 episodes. That not only kills a weekend of viewing; they often last a full week of 1-hr episodes.

Maestro in Blue is a Greek production, filmed in Greece, with English dubbed audio. Of course, the scenery is spectacular even though the plot is an old-time soap opera. Dream sequences, modern American pop tunes interspersed with classical music, and snatches of scenes can get little confusing at times.

The Diplomat is about a woman American Ambassador to London, who gets involved in all kinds of nefarious affairs. She’s very butch and aggressive; her husband seems to be something of a cipher even though he is a former ambassador himself. They seem to be jockeying for the limelight. It’s not very believable. It still got a lengthy review in the New York Times.

Treason and Anatomy of a Scandal are British spy series. Who knew that MI6 was so incompetent? It’s like that old comedy routine of “who’s on first” since the good guys and bad guys keep switching roles. Obviously, no one is totally clean or totally dirty, and some seem to be playing both sides of the street. At least they keep you guessing.

I missed the top Netflix series Wednesday that is a take-off on the Addams Family. It appears to be oriented to teens, which would have been a non-starter for me.

I’ve pretty much abandoned Masterpiece Theatre, which was my Sunday night favorite on PBS for decades. Somehow the costumed, period pieces got to be too tedious and formulaic.

The PBS Frontline did a lengthy, multi-part series on America’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan. Basically, we just screwed up from day one, and everything kept getting worse until the debacle of the exit of our troops. The PBS crew has been back since the Americans left, and the situation has returned to the primitive governance policies that were there before we came. You just can’t change Bedouins who have lived the same way for almost 1,200 years and expect them to adapt to a modern society even after 20 years of occupation.

Even the PBS Great Performances has lapsed into a series of music vignettes mixed with storytelling and behind-the-scenes views of the performances. I would prefer to see a complete symphony or Broadway show and less kibitzing. Maybe the Republicans are cutting their budgets so much they can’t afford to do anything else. Yes, I’m a regular contributor to WUNC and PBS-NC, but donations just don’t pay the rent anymore. They’re now including “sponsors” masquerading as advertisers.

CNN appears to be trying to replace the ailing Fox News as the Trump channel when they launched him on a “town hall,” that was a campaign rally. Was that a cynical approach to gain ratings, or was it legitimate coverage of a presidential campaign candidate?

As for most broadcast TV, I agree with the former FCC Commissioner Newton Minnow who described it as “the great wasteland.”

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