The Day That Music Changed The World. "Live Aid - Against All Odds"

Live Aid: Against All Odds (2011) 

Not Rated

Starring Bod Geldof, Midge Ure,

Produced by the BBC

The Story:

After the success of Do They Know It's Christmas, Bob Geldof decided that Band Aid should try something even more impressive. Live benefit concerts in July 1985, both in England and America and other locations round the world, and beam it to everyone else via satellite. It had never been done before, and most skeptics said it couldn't be done, period. But with some hard work, elbow grease, and outright lies, the greatest concert in music history did indeed happen.

This is their story.

This amazing documentary is available in 2 parts on YouTube. Each part is 90 minutes.

It keeps you grabbed from the minute you start watching until it's over.

Then you wish for a few more parts to the documentary.

So unless you were lucky enough to catch this on the BBC a few years back, you've likely never seen it.

The documentary does a great job of getting just about anyone and everyone who had something to do with Live Aid for the documentary, and they still manage to squeeze in enough of the performances to really bring back the memories.

So brazen was Geldof to get people to appear, he listed them as performing, oftentimes without even checking with those acts to see if they were willing and able to play.

Then he would lie to each band and say "well, they're in, so why aren't you?" and vice versa.

It's an incredible amount of chutzpah on Geldof's part, and it's an event that will never be duplicated again.

Then there was the American side of things where so many artists were pulling out because the American promoter was a giant POS that everyone hated. :)

Pair that with hosts that have an absolute disdain for the musicians that will be appearing, and it was a recipe for disaster.

Or at least if they do, it will probably roll off a lot smoother than this one did.

So go behind the scenes and see how they pulled this concert off and all the headaches and heartbreaking moments that went into the greatest concert of them all.

Final Grade: A

Living In "Whitechapel" Can Be Deadly

Whitechapel: Season 1 (2009)

Not Rated

Starring Rupert Penry-Jones, Phil Davis, Steve Pemberton

Created by Ben Court, Caroline Ip

The Story:

Jack the Ripper, or at least someone copying his infamous murders, is back terrorizing Whitechapel, London. Young Detective Inspector Chandler (Penry-Jones) is assigned the case by the top brass so that he can check off the "murder" block, and move up towards the higher ranks at headquarters. Of course, he doesn't realize it's a Ripper murder, nor does Detective Sergeant Miles (Davis) the gruff, streetwise detective that is forced to follow this rookie Inspector. It's only when Ripperologist Edward Buchan (Pemberton) shows them the connections that the department begins trying to stop the new Ripper before he strikes again. Yet, how do you stop a murderer who was never caught?

It's easy to become enamored with the BBC shows, as they are usually well acted, well written and well crafted.

They are also 3-6 episodes long, so they don't overstay their welcome, or get bloated with subplots that seemingly stall the narrative to barely keep the wheels of the plot in motion.

Season 1 of Whitechapel is 3 intense episodes that are focused on the Jack the Ripper killings, and the oil/water relationship between that of Chandler and Miles (and the rest of the Department for that matter).

It's always been a compelling narrative when you have two dynamic leads who both believe in their ideals and it conflicts with the other.

Each will bend, yet never break, and the partnership usually comes out stronger in the end.

I'm hesitant to try the subsequent 3 seasons, as they have nothing to do with Jack the Ripper, which was my initial interest.

However, the characters were compelling enough to pull me back, so maybe in the near future?

Currently streaming for those with Amazon Prime.

Final Grade: Solid B / B+

Life On The Homefront... "Foyle's War"

Foyle's War (2002)
N/R

Starring Michael Kitchen, Honeysuckle Weeks, Anthony Howell

Created by Anthony Horowitz

The Story:

It's 1940 and World War II is in full swing.  Detective Chief Superintendent Foyle (Kitchen) had requested a transfer to join the war effort, but was denied.  Instead, he is going to have to keep the Hastings Police on the south coast of England safe from crime.  Given a driver (Weeks) and a wounded veteran (Howell) to round out his team, Foyle soon comes to realize that crime doesn't stop just because war has engulfed the region.

Well, this was certainly a step in the right direction compared to Downtown Abbey.

I have only watched the first episode, and there were some slow spots, as the show seems to run just a bit long.

It seems like a slightly shorter run-time and the show could be tightened up considerably.

However, things actually happened during the entire running time of the episode unlike Abbey.

That said, it is an interesting concept: a police procedural set at the onset of World War II, in one of the regions most affected by war.

I definitely won't be marathoning this anytime soon, but I can see dusting off an episode now and again if I've got nothing else to watch.

The dilemma:  it seems like I've ALWAYS got something else to watch.

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: Seemed to be a B- range... but I'm going to end up with a C+.  It means well, but I'll have to see if it tightens up in a 2nd episode.

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Definitely no to a purchase, but I will probably watch a few more episodes.

Big Changes On the Horizon...Better "Call the Midwife: Season 2"

Those babies just keep coming!

The Story:

Nurse Jenny Lee (Jessica Raine)  and her cohorts return to ring in 1958 in Season 2.  Still narrated by Vanessa Redgrave, this season seems to veer into much more dramatic moments (how is that possible??!!) than the first series.  Starting with a Christmas episode that isn't very cheery, life on London's East End for our favorite midwives is about to change dramatically.

So at this point, it's hard to say if the memoirs of Jennifer Worth are expounded upon, changed completely or altered significantly, but Season 2 seems to be much more... preachy? Pushy? I'm not sure what the change is, but it's much more noticeable this go-round.

Jenny seems much more judgmental of her patients this season, as they push the new maternity room because the pregnant women are living in less than ideal conditions. 

In fact, many of the episodes seem to go for the controversy this go round.  Stealing babies. Abortion. Contraception. Mysterious death blamed on the nurses.  Again, based on actual events, but to what extent?  This almost seems to swing too far into the dramatic territory this season.

It doesn't help that much of the fun from the first season is missing.

Chummy (Miranda Hart) heads to Africa with her hubby and they are gone for almost the entire season.  Their fun and exuberance is sorely missed.

She is replaced by nursing assistant Jane (Dorothy Atkinson) who is void of all personality, possibly (hopefully)  by design?

Cynthia (Bryony Hannah) is blamed for the death of a child, and spends the rest of the episode doubting herself and ready to pack it in.

The other overarching storyline is the story of Sister Bernadette (Laura Main) who has been harboring feelings for the Doctor Turner (Stephen McGann).  When she is diagnosed with tuberculosis, it all culminates with the biggest change for her of all the characters.

By the season's end, the whole gang is back together, just in time to learn that the convent is scheduled for demolition.

That should mark a cheery beginning to Season 3.

Still good, but not quite up to par with the first season.

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

We'll see what happens in the third...and final(?)... season this winter.

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I think once will turn out to be enough for this series.  Looking forward to seeing what they come back with in Season 3, but the bloom is off the rose. ;)

You Don't Have to Wait 9 Months to "Call The Midwife: Season One"

There's something about a baby...

The Story:

Nurse Jenny Lee (Jessica Raine) comes to London's East End slums at the end of 1957 to be a midwife.  Imagine her surprise when instead of a hospital, she finds that she will be working at a convent with some nuns with medical training and a handful of other nurses.  These people, while midwives, don't just deal with the babies, but all the tenants of the area.  These stories are recounted by an older Jenny (Vanessa Redgrave) at the beginning, end and sometimes during the quiet moments of reflection as the tales unfold.

And yes, they are based on the true tales from nurse Jennifer Worth who collected her memoirs in a group of books upon which this remarkable BBC series is based.

Naturally, when we're dealing with childbirth in impoverished conditions of the late 50s, I suppose it would go without saying that be prepared for heartbreak for some of the families and the nurses/nuns in the series.

But be prepared for some amazing tales of love and strength to buffer the heartbreak.

The series deftly weaves the ups and downs in life through each episode, of which there are 6 in the first season.

I won't count down what happens in each episode, but if you think that "how boring, they're going to give birth in every episode, same story, over and over..."

Well no, you're wrong.

While babies are going to be born in just about every episode, the stories will be different for every mother the nurses run across.

The cast of nurses is excellent, and it's fun when a new nurse, Chummy Browne (Miranda Hart) arrives to learn the ropes.

And while Jenny is indeed the focal point of the series, each of the nuns and nurses will continue to be fleshed out and grow as characters.

Heck, why else would I be worried that Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) would wander off and die by the end of Episode 6?

Great series so far, and I'm happily watching with my favorite movie date!

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

On to Season 2!!!

Final Grade: A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: The first thought is: Yes to both... but it would be hard.  Dramas often lose their punch with repeated viewings.  This would probably have to go unviewed for a good time, and then watch it again so it wasn't fresh and everything would seem new again.