Reviews

I recently discovered "One Foot in the Grave" here in the States with my subscription to Brit Box - Victor Mildrew reminds me of my favorite, beautifully drawn American comic strip character "Crankshaft," the elderly gent who lovingly tends his garden and is forever bumbling into modern technology, strained relationships and blowing up the BBQ grill. Who hasn't felt the pain of being replaced by a heartless technological "advance" as is long-time security guard Victor in the first episode, replaced by a small electronic box. Later, like Margaret, I once hired a home-wiring handyman who, like Margaret's carpet layer, fell asleep on the job and, upon waking from his snooze, asked me to fix him some lunch! True, so true! Victor and Margaret are the perfect antidote to all the crime shows I view. My only concern is that, for a sitcom, some of the incidents are most painful to contemplate but such is life but, and as Dr. Who once said, We have to take the rough with the smooth.

Having grown up w/WSS#1, knowing all the screenplay and music, I only reluctantly watched WSS#2, but now that I have, I find good things in both. ~ I was ok with the addition of untranslated Spanish as I've learned a lot of it over the years. I love when Tony #2 sings "Maria" in a neighborhood full of Marias. ~ At the start, I wondered how the WSS#2 Jets acquired big paint brushes on route to the wall mural: preposterous, although I could see the humor in mixing the paint as the Jets danced to their destination. But: Puerto Rico is a territory of the USA so why deface their flag? This new, opening change in the action works against the main themes of WSS. ~ I prefer Maria#2; Natalie Wood, as much as I admired her acting abilities, was miscast. I liked seeing WSS#2 Maria at her workplace, a charming, spacious setting for "I Feel Pretty." ~ I love the WSS#1 smooth, sweet (and "sharp!") individual gang members - how they all move, talk, look, interact. WSS#2 Jets and Sharks are, for me, a ragged blur - I cannot distinguish among them; one big problem is their clunky, irregular clothing - for dancing, not smooth and sleek and befitting ballet as in the first version. ~ I was often moved to tears with the young lovers of WSS#2, but never w/WSS#1. ~ WSS#2 has too much added talking; I didn't need "the backstories" of characters. ~ WSS#2 has small but jarring gaps between scenes; I do not approve of new lapses in the powerful score that hamper the continuity (as I know the original Broadway score by heart). ~ WSS#1 gestures and violence are balletic but WSS#2 is too painfully realistic - and anyone pierced by a dirty nail requires a tetanus shot asap - an icky detail that didn't need to be shown. ~ The "Cool" sequence is great in both versions, but the setting of WSS#2 is so astonishing I'll have to re-watch. ~ Why do the WSS#2 Jets ransack a police station waiting room with no repercussions from the cops? Come on! ~ Overall, WSS#2 is focused on the Hispanic point of view while WSS#1 is balanced between the two opposing sides - which brings me to that new puzzling scene: I've visited the Cloisters several times (I'm an art historian) and I seriously doubt that Tony's prison bus would have stopped there for an art tour! My guess is that a new quasi-religious "white" element was added to balance the many Christian/Hispanic embellishments of WSS#2. ~ Finally, what's missing from the new version is the dynamic, shining photogenic powers of Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno and George Chakiris. I think the new version is good - but the oldie had that."yo se que."

I've been watching Botched for years-lately, brash Terry has become more insulting to sweet Paul-a total turnoff to me. Thanks to widespread use of smart phones, female patients can film and broadcast their nude chests even before they reach the Beverly Hills medical building examining room. Modesty, a forgotten virtue. I agree 100% with the Hattian mother who urged her daughter to be glad for her nose instead of trying to reshape it; Dr. Paul reshaped the unhappy daughter's nose so well she got a new Do and flaunted her celebrity profile. The film industry has done too much to make viewers unhappy about what God has provided and, for better or worse, the medical profession has been accommodating patients with reasonable and unreasonable requests. ~~ In cases of birth defects, serious illnesses, disfiguring accidents, etc., I can understand the need for surgery but pumping up one's boobs for show is for boobs! Many patients don't care about surgical risks nor do they realize that a boob job (assuming correctly done) is only good for 12 years. Doesn't all that silicone interfere with love making? And patients with lip fillers can't feel being kissed, can't drink without dribbling liquid all over themselves. Just because something can be done doesn't mean it should be done. Thankfully, the two Botched doctors refuse to assist certain would-be patients and advise them to stop already.

I watched Season 1, Episodes 1 &11 (first & last episodes) On Demand of Farmer Wants a Wife. Having grown up in a city surrounded by small farms and stables, I often visited friends on their rustic properties (picking fresh grown corn, beans, etc. In the great outdoors) plus horseback riding on densely wooded trails so I dressed to protect myself from the elements: deer flies, rough hides, sun, rain, mud, muck, dander, dampness, gloves, etc. In "Farmer Wants a Wife", clueless women arrived alluringly exposed, coifed, manicured and dressed for limousines and city dating rather than prepared for the rugged outdoors in pants, boots, long sleeves, neck scarves, hats. Second, the "farmers" are what I'd term RANCHERS as they don't raise crops as farmers do but instead own large livestock (cows, bulls, pigs, etc.). If I were meeting these men, I'd expect them TO TAKE OFF THEIR HATS in my presence. They were all nicely dressed but appeared to be hiding from the women rather than attempting to interact with them like gentlemen, IN A COURTEOUS MANNER. Are they shy or sneaky? Third, I'd be freaked spending time with a guy I don't know on a spread 3 miles from the nearest neighbor. The show is geared for well-established males, not for single women being expected to give up their city lives and careers.

I re-subscribed to Acorn so that I could view "The Chelsea Detective" Seasons 1 and 2 plus two short documentaries about how the shows are filmed. I like this police procedural very much - nice cast, gorgeous scenery, aspects of forensic science that are often ignored in other crime dramas). I miss Sonita Henry who inexplicably vanished and was replaced by a different actress - there should have been an episode about her 'disappearance'. The plots are well structured (no odd plot holes) if a bit easy to untangle. I admire the Chelsea neighborhood as a backdrop, especially the houseboats, the flower show, the beautiful homes and gardens, the art galleries - but could do without the odd comings and goings of the estranged wife and guy(s) hanging about her. I hope more episodes of "The Chelsea Detective" appear soon.

Never mind "their funny New York accents", y'all, I look forward to viewing "New York Homicide" whenever it is broadcast around here, especially because of the appearances of host and retired Chief of Detectives Robert C. Boyce, the 6'4" blue eyed charmer who has the most adorable way of describing true crimes and complexities of detective work unique to the mammoth densely populated city of New York. He recently gave extremely choice comments on a podcast regarding the Long Island Serial Killer - I guarantee that if the now retired Chief Boyce had been working in that jurisdiction, that case would have been solved in 15 minutes, not 15 years.

"City of Vice" is an exceptionally well written historical crime drama enacted by a superb cast led by Ian McDiarmid as Henry Fielding, author of "Tom Jones." His witty and thoughtful delivery of dialogue is especially worth watching. Ian Glen, portraying his blind brother, is also a most capable actor. These harrowing productions have a dark and stage-like quality full of action and unexpected twists. I was disappointed that there are only 5 episodes about the origins of the London police force and would gladly continue watching if more episodes become available but magistrate and novelist Henry Fielding suffered from increasingly poor health and died in his 50s. Subjects of this short but frightful series include murder, sex crimes, home invasion, kidnapping, thefts, muggings, blackmail - and the despair of victims of high moral character vs the tight-fisted attitude of those holding the purse-strings. Not for the faint-hearted! >> Alas, today's immorality and crime problems are much like those of yore - and funding for the police, at least here in the United States, is equally problematic so "City of Vice" is most timely. >> I enjoyed viewing the map of London becoming 3D as the action speeds viewers from one neighborhood to another along densely structured city streets. Having visited London several times over the years, I have always found it a dangerous place with some pretty nasty characters roving about. >> I recommend this series to anyone with an interest in true crime.

"Mystery Party" is a colorful French film a la "Clue" and locked room games about a pill-popping woman who visits a remote garish mansion to discuss structural renovations but gets tangled up in murder and romance - no party as the title implies. Voices come out of nowhere; cell phones don't work; there are long-standing family feuds. Certain elements of the plot left me puzzled: the main character claims to have claustrophobia but builds a tent she enters without having a panic attack. Also, she throws pills into a fish pond (I guess to see if the pills were poisonous). Because the script mentions Agatha Christie, several of her plots came to mind, making me wonder if the dead man was really dead and also if the youngster of the family had something to do with that death. There is long nerve wracking action involving bows and arrows. I wanted to like this movie but in the end, I just couldn't and don't recommend it, pretty as it looked, colorful as it was. MAIS NON!

I have two degrees in History of Art and have visited many world class fine arts museums, plus I've studied the beautiful French language off and on for years so I especially appreciate "L'Art du Crime" which is so well done and often hilarious - one particularly amusing episode involves Fragonard's The Bolt/The Lock - 1777 (which we saw on display at a special exhibit at the Luxembourg Gardens) depicting a man and a woman behind closed doors in a disheveled bedroom. The two main TV characters give the painting a whole new lease on life - the bald cop Captain in a boyish Dutch-looking wig and art expert Florence especially hilarious lusting away after him in period dress and a long gray fright wig. Elsewhere, her face and expressive tender brown eyes often remind me of the Mona Lisa. So well done. I also love scenes that take us viewers down into the depths of the ancient Louvre - been there and done that. Watching this series is a great reminder of my wonderful visits to Paris with my husband who also gets a big kick out of this series. Perfect entertainment combining art, crime and romance. We view these shows on MHZ. I've noted some criticisms of the show due to the romantic angle but the brainy funny Florence has had her share of failed romances and just can't help falling for her co-worker, the serious but often lumbering cop on a mission.

My husband and I enjoyed this 4-part police procedural headed by D. I. Ray, an energetic, subtle and upright lady who didn't deserve any of the garbage thrown at her at every turn while she tackles a complex series of murders which dovetail a big hush-hush investigation of an entirely different nature. Above all, I especially enjoyed her soft-spoken quick thinking brain dishing out complex investigative instructions to her large staff of officers as she relentlessly hunts down the perps in gritty Birmingham and tactfully engages with people of all stripes. The suspenseful 4th episode left me more than a little surprised but I understand there are more episodes to come so we will watch those as well (assuming they are aired on a channel we can access without subscribing to yet more streaming services).

"West Side Story" the recent gangster epic "Love and Bullets" is not. I'm a big fan of Giampaolo Morelli (Song of Napoli, Inspector Coliandro) so I recently viewed Love and Bullets on MHZ - a lengthy musical comedy set in Naples by the Manetti Brothers. I would have preferred a shorter action film without singing, as I found the first half of Love and Bullets garish to see and strident to hear (a marred, badly made-up corpse breaks out in song while inside his coffin) but, mid-point, once the plot is established and the hitman Ciro (Morelli) takes the lead away from his boss, the so-called Fish King, I was reminded of "Knight and Day" - a martial arts spy spoof I thoroughly enjoyed. Morelli as the unfortunate Ciro hasn't chosen murder - murder chose Ciro. Love and Bullets is about loyalty no matter the circumstances, lost love and misery despite stunning natural surroundings - the Bay of Naples. I think the music and some scenes such as that singer-in-the-coffin bit plus the busload of singing and dancing tourists could have been eliminated, with the focus trained on the action storyline. But who am I to argue with success? The Manetti Brothers were showered with Italian cinematic honors as a result of Love and Bullets.

The two (or was it three?) likable main characters kept me watching this impossible French time travelogue police drama - an aging homicide detective with a head injury goes back 20 years to hunt a serial killer while continously encountering a shrink from Genoa. The cop is compelled to track down the elusive Earwig Killer who shatters eardrums of his victims by high-tech means, not the insect, before murdering them. Inspector Kemp wants to change history by preventing the murders but apparently is unaware that the renegade Time Lord Dr Who has decided that changing history is a no-no - but I digress! Back in Crime (L'autre vie de Richard Kemp) is set in an industrial port city (Cucq) north of Amiens, nowhere near Paris as the short MHZ film description suggests. The locales are dark and gloomy, with deep waters, high bridges, outmoded pay phones, dark alleys and abandoned buildings but the apartment buildings where much of the story unfolds is pretty swank.

Now that the two series have concluded, I much preferred Morse. Having read most of the Colin Dexter books and watched all the Morse and Endeavour episodes, I had a hard time connecting the young investigator with the mature version. Another main difference is that Morse usually investigated crimes involving Oxford University professors, students or staff but Endeavour was mostly on the periphery dealing with banks, gangs, bikers, bars, business people, an orphanage and the like. Did University officials object to the producers because of all the fictional crime on their campus as seen in Morse? I also wondered why Endeavour acquired and renovated an old house but Morse resided in a condo - did he tire of all the maintenance? I liked the first Endeaour (pilot) episode until I perceived a major flaw with the time line - I only continued watching the series to the end because, early on, someone on PBS commented that young Morse (Endeavour) would be meeting the young Lewis but as far as I can tell, that never happened. As much as I admire Shaun Evans, I think the part was much more suited to the late great John Thaw. I always enjoyed seeing John Thaw's daughter Abigail in Endeavour - a warm and wonderful part for her.

I finally viewed "The Squeeze" (1977) after reading that it was like "The Sweeney," all 53 hard-hitting, snappy TV episodes I very much enjoyed but alas, despite a star-studded cast and gritty London locales, "The Squeeze" had me checking the time every 5 minutes, not a good sign, but still I slogged through it, starting with a slow falling-down drunk opener, the exact opposite of "The Sweeney." Stacey Keach is a handsome, soft spoken leading man but not a hard-boiled private eye, as this script has him too pathetic, vulernable, meek, mild and apologetic. Still, "The Squeeze" also includes Dennis Hemming of "Blow Up" and Stephen Boyd's final movie role. I was always wild about Boyd but he smoked too much and accepted too many tasteless parts which ruined his looks and his health. Here he is the especially rotten crime boss Vic with huge unflattering sideburns and a tight-fitting wardrobe (red check gingham shirt, big red carnation, small tweedy hat -- ugh!) And spouting a belief system about God and reincarnation - but Vic is an unnecessarily violent, leering gangster. I did like the clever, unorthodox ending.

While I was a school girl, I never missed doll-faced Darren McGavin as Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, an unorthodox, relenetless private eye ridding New York City of creeps in much the same way as "The Sweeney" in 1970s London. I say "doll-faced" because I did meet Mr. McGavin on the street in front of the Met after he had just finished his evening performance of "The King and I," dancing and singing as a barefoot royal in love with a governess - nothing like Mike Hammer but just as adorable. I told him how much I enjoyed his TV shows including "Riverboat." Years later, I bought the Mike Hammer DVDs but found his methods too unorthodox for my adult mind. Still, Darren McGavin was and is one of my all-time favorite stars: RIP.

John Thaw (Regan) and Dennis Waterman (Carter) are my favorite plain-clothes heavy-handed police procedural guys, dressed in big ties, mismatched shirts, wide bell bottoms, well suited (pun intended) to driving heaped up muscle cars around the grittier streets of 1970s London, chasing bad guys galore and smashing white-collar thugs against their dusty umarked vans and chain-link fences surrounding derelict high-rise factories littered with broken glass. I bought the entire DVD set after I viewed all of serene, academic-minded "Morse" about 10 times. In some ways, I've enoyed "The Sweeney" as much or more as it reminds me of Darren McGavin in Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer - rough and tumble, unexpected British humor spoken in low, quick pulses, with complex plots that spin round till they suddenly smack you in the head with explosive force. Love the Sweeney theme too, brassy big band throbbing sound that matches the mayhem. One of my favorite episodes among many involves a latin lady, a gynocologist and a missing traffic light.

I've seen "The Man Who Never Was" several times over the years, starting soon after I became a diehard Stephen Boyd fan when I first saw him in Ben-Hur. One reason Stephen Boyd got the coveted role of Messala in Ben-Hur was his fine performance in "The Man Who Never Was," a suspenseful World War II film based on historic fact (Ian Fleming or his brother may have come up with the idea for real while serving in the military). I've also read many reviews of "The Man Who Never Was" but none I know of mention that the future Miss Marple of Agatha Christie fame (Joan Hickson) played Stephen Boyd's cheery landlady in "The Man Who Never Was." When she tries helping him carry his luggage up her interior stairway, he says to her in his most charming Irish brogue, "Never let it be said that I let a lady carry for me." This scene alone is worth watching "The Man Who Never Was."

A stupendous fictional breathless trip into outer space and back to the 1970s with a brilliant cast and super intelligent writing - a French TV comedy series that I hope will carry forward for more episodes - the best series I've seen so far on MHZ. I loved the UFO (OVNI) staff and every setting rife with bygone phenomena like bulky computers, big plastic dial phones, VW vans, university geniuses, LSD, David Bowie, toy pianos, pony tails, pleated hair scarves and flamingos (real ones, not granny's lawn ornaments). Didier (Melvil Poupaud) is energetically flawless as the high-powered brainiac leading the effort to clear up mountains of dusty bureaucratic files at GEPAN regarding numerous unexplained sightings in and above the French countryside.

My husband and I could have purchased all the Montalbano DVDs ($500) but instead began subscribing to MHZ in 2020, which has been the wiser option because we wouldn't view these mysteries more than once and also because subscribing to MHZ provides access to many other European programs. Montalbano is a good but not great mystery series because (1) there is too much "tell" rather than "show" - it is hard to follow complex, rapid fire explanations full of personal and place names rather than being shown the action that summarizes the endings of many plots - a big no-no in fiction writing (2) subplots are so tenuous they are hard to connect to the main plots (3) Montalbano's "friend" Livia (played by 3 different actresses over a 20 yr period) travels the 500 miles that separate her from Salvo - often without prior notice, as if she hopes to catch him w/other women. Why don't they live together? How did they meet? What does she do way up in Genoa? Why does he confide police business in her? Why does he so seldom visit her? I find their relationship strange, static and tiresome - especially when she does exactly what he wants her not to do. (4) Montalbano has a dangerous job yet he puts himself at risk in every episode. His face is well known to one and all from TV appearances and newspaper photos. He swims in the sea and resides alone at the seaside where anyone who wanted to could do him in. There is usually no one on the lonely street where he lives, no other cars, no neighbors, no security system. He has no visitors or relatives apart from Livia and his fellow workers. Often he fails to have his handgun with him even on a police stakeout. His casual attitude about safety continuously reminds me that this is mere fiction. (5) Montalbano's assistant Catarella really needs to learn how to open and close a door properly. I don't know why or how Salvo puts up w/this silly fellow, yet Catarella has saved the day a few times proving he takes his job seriously. (6) the old crude barking coroner should retire. He is obnoxious, unprofessional, horrid - yet he like Catarella knows his job. It's a shame he forever insults the courteous Montalbano for no reason whatever and makes the inspector beg for relevant information. (7) being Sicilian-American myself, I had a strong Catholic straightlaced upbringing as did most of my friends and family but the church, other than aerial and street views of crumbly old cathedrals, doesn't impact Montalbano, his colleagues or their witnesses and victims. There are no priests, no rosaries, no bells, no festivals, no church goers, no sacraments. (8) sometimes I find the investigators terribly naiive when they can't figure out a mystery that is so obvious to me - especially Latin Lover Mimi. (9) Before viewing the last episode in this series, I devised a dozen possible endings but was wrong about them all. I found the actual ending much less than I had imagined it could have been. (10) I think the calm, cool-headed super efficient Fazio would be the logical replacement to Montalbano and he might keep me watching if the series continues. ~~ The Montalbano series is good but not great entertainment, with beautiful outdoor scenery and haunting musical themes. When I visited Sicily a few years ago, it was very calm, quiet, almost unpopulated in most places, dry and sunny but empty, as if most everyone had moved elsewhere, taking Sicily's treasures away with them. I get this same haunted impression whenever I watch Inspector Montalbano.

I watched this entire 2 season Sicilian comedy because 3 of my grandparents came to America from there and I very much enjoyed my visit to Sicily a few years ago - although I like one of the main characters can do without ricotta cheese! I also like hearing the Sicilian language which in this series is clear and well spoken. The plot of Incastrati (Framed) is quite intricate - never a dull moment. At first I was expecting a comedy in the American sense but soon decided the label "comedy" is meant in the Shakespearean way, i.e., "Framed" ("Incastrati") is not a tragedy - all's well that ends well. If you enjoyed the tv series "Monk" about an obsessive compulsive detective you might like Framed as well - a dedicated homicide detective (Agata, as in Agatha Christie perhaps?) searches for "the guy" while a meek bachelor and his feisty partner who run a small repair business together realize their romances keep going wrong. The twosome don't repair anything but they do keep their heads above water while surrounded by endlessly menacing trigger-happy Mafiosos. I was rather surprised about the plot with all its complexities but glad I watched to the end - a well-crafted mystery set in stunning locales.

Coliandro is one of my favorite action series - a police procedural set in Bologna. I watched all the MHZ episodes but this was less than half the series, so I purchased all the DVDs (37 episodes in 8 sets) and have just finished viewing all of them. The 2d half unfortunately does not have English subtitles and so I struggled to comprehend the plots but they follow the usual format just like most TV series. Unfortunately, unlike most (American) TV series that have a long run and finish with a definite The End (House, Monk, etc.) Coliandro came to an "end" as though our hero has more adventures up his leather sleeve. From some of the final Bonus Photographs I saw that cast members were wearing Covid masks - the series began c. 2006 and was still going on during the pandemic. I was disappointed that Garjulio, one of my favorite characters in the series, was not on screen in the last few episodes - I had hoped his romance would have continued. The very best episode, in my opinion, is Double Identity - Coliandro does fantastic things as a different sort of hero, one I wish the producers would re-visit and develop further, with leading lady Serena Rossi. Coliandro is a series that, like no other, reminds me of my youth, growing up in an Italian-American society and family.

I'm a fan of fictional mysteries and used to enjoy "Colombo" so I began watching "Poker Face" which has been heavily advertised on Peacock. As in "Colombo," the crime and the criminal(s) are revealed at the start of each episode. There is an overarching "The Fugitive" plot that carries from one episode to the next, along with short mysteries resolved in each episode. These shows are somewhat uneven (the one set in a retirement community and another about a has-been rock band were, so far, the worst) - what really annoys me is the left wing agenda peppered with F bombs including hurling insults against Jesus. In college, I made the acquaintance of a brilliant student who was born and raised in Hollywood - I recall telling her that I wish screen writers would cut out all the cursing. She replied "But that's how EVERYONE talks." No, they don't.

"Ladies of Letters" vividly displays - humorously and with great acting abilities - how difficult it can be for middle-aged women to make new friends - a rare topic indeed. I, an American, have always enjoyed British entertainment of various sorts so I was glad for this TV series from 2009 which aired on PBS and Acorn in 2022. I haven't as yet read the book but have it on order. ~ Vera and Irene, who live rather solitary lives at some distance from one another in England, first meet at a wedding and begin a lengthy correspondence after one mails a thank you note to the other. The two have much in common - both are widows who live alone in freestanding houses with pet dogs and gardens to tend and no household helpers, and both are mothers with grandchildren on the way - but they also have their differences which are apparent even in the opening credits. ~ Although the storyline is exaggerated for entertainment purposes, there is much truth in this fictional relationship which unfolds over 20 half-hour episodes. I was especially impressed with how active both stars - Anne Reid and Maureen Lipman - are as they flawlessly speak non-stop. Their ever-changing surroundings and wardrobes reveal their personalities. They continually deal with unexpected and sometimes unjust challenges that come their way. ~ I would have rated this a 10 except that it was so difficult for me to keep up with the rapid-fire dialogue that I could only follow the massive flow of words by turning on the closed captioning, and I disliked the sometimes fierce antagonism that erupted between the two women. I myself had continued a longstanding long-distance correspondence with a college friend until time and tide eventually broke the connection so I very much appreciate discovering "Ladies of Letters," a rare find and a unique gem. Bravo!

Prague is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever visited and I always enjoy a good mystery so I viewed the entire first season of Prague Mysteries in short order and with great interest. The stunning old city of Prague glows gem-like as three police officers (Hynek Budik and his two assistants, Rudy and Novacek) investigate suspicious deaths in all sorts of venues around the perimeter which is their jurisdiction. Prague was bitterly cold in springtime when I visited but most of these episodes were filmed in warm weather. Of the 10 mysteries I viewed, 8 were resolved satisfactorily but two left me unconvinced. Overall, the show resembles the PBS series about Hercule Poirot in its retro appeal - nattily dressed investigators, stunning architecture, quaint telephones, vintage transportation - and the puddles and muck of farmland where some of the incidents take them. The one drawback of the Prague series is, for me, the excessive amount of viewing time lavished on the soap-opera lives of the women connected with the officers. Having read and watched numerous fictional murder mysteries, in my opinion the best focus on unmarried invesigators who dabble in useful hobbies. In the Prague series, the only activity these men engage in, apart from card-playing at The Club or downing drinks after work, is maintaining active sex lives, married or not. I would have rated the series higher but these distractions dampened my enthusiasm for the show, particularly the shocking scene of a grown man sitting in bed with a very young girl.

I began viewing "Father Ted" on line around 2017 when I became curious about the fine actor Ardal O'Hanlon who, at that time, starred as a middle-aged British homicide detective in "Death in Paradise", a mystery series set on a fictional tropical island (airing on public broadcasting here in the USA). Although I was alarmed at the weird trio of priests (a gambling addict, a boyish simpleton and an unsightly drunkard), I, being Catholic, have had almost nothing but strange encounters with real priests (and a bishop or two) so I couldn't help but laugh a lot at the antics of Fathers Ted, Dougal and Jack. I kept watching slowly but surely until I viewed the whole three seasons. My favorite moment involves a champion sheep about to appear in the annual Craggy Island sheep contest. Fathers Ted and Dougal bring it home and do all in their power to cheer him up, but I think Mrs Doyle held the key: sheep tea! The maniacally triumphant look on her face as she sets off from the parlor toward the kitchen to brew a pot is absolutely priceless. My only criticism of the show is its descent into wretched excess - ear wax, overly long fingernails, throwing the American flag on the UK airport floor, etc. If I had to characterize the brand of sit com it is, I'd put it in a class somewhere above The Three Stooges, and akin to Sgt Bilko (poking fun at the army) and Barney Miller (humor in the NYC police HQ), but the closest to "Father Ted" is, in my opinion, "Car 54, Where Are You?" with the award winning zany 1960s NYC patrol car cops Toody and Muldoon (poking fun at cops as well as priests generated viewer criticisms). But seriously, we the faithful must question the Church, in view of the horrid sex abuse scandals that came to light soon after Father Ted concluded its TV run, regarding all the fatally flawed men who are ordained and entrusted with the fragile lives of believers, especially children, so whatever criticisms we might hold about Father Ted as a television program, it seems that it didn't go far enough in exposing unacceptable behaviors of these so-called Men of God. None of us is perfect, but authority figures with bizarre personalities should not be given positions of trust.