IT was a real blast to meet Ian McShane recently to talk about his acting career, growing up in Manchester the son of a Man U player, and his new role as a scheming 12th century bishop on the miniseries "The Pillars of the Earth." Here is my interview for the LA Times.Pillars does not compare to Deadwood, the program from which McShane is best known to Americans for his foul-mouthed saloon-keeper … [Read more...]
Remembering the Civil Rights Years
LIKE a lot of people, I knew the reputation of Eyes on the Prize, the famous documentary about the civil rights movement in the Deep South in the '50s and '60s. But watching all six hours of it was simultaneously spirit-rousing and soul-crushing as I watched the movement beaten back time and time again.The documentary, which originally broadcast in 1987, has been out of circulation for decades, … [Read more...]
Elmore Leonard Goes to Kentucky
ONE of the programs that showed me that television could, at its rare best, offer the quality of acting, direction, set design and thematic development of the finest films was "Deadwood," that saga of the Wild West that HBO cancelled after three all-too-short seasons.So it's exciting for me -- and the few dozen others who followed the show -- that "Deadwood" sheriff Timothy Olyphant will star as a … [Read more...]
Alan Alda vs. Science
AMONG the very few things yours truly has in common with Alan Alda is a love of science. (Though my wife tells me he was her first crush, so there may be a joke in here somewhere.)In any case, it was as pleasure to have a beer with the star of the most successful tv show of all time and discuss the new three-part special he's hosting on PBS, "The Human Spark." The show tries to get at what makes … [Read more...]
John Updike vs. Witches of Eastwick
FOR a not terribly good book, "the witches of eastwick" has had quite an afterlife. not only did it become a popular, if faintly cheesy, movie involving cher, and a briefly lived stage show, but it's now set to become a television series. no, not a miniseries -- but a show that could run for years and years.why? i'm still a bit confused about the whole thing. but HERE is my new piece on the book's … [Read more...]
Ken Burns vs. His Critics
AS a former (and very minor) member of the nation's conspiracy of jazz critics, i remember quite well the vitriol hurled at ken burns for his "Jazz" documentary. the UK's guardian, for instance, called the series, for its treating jazz like an art form that died with ellington, "a jam session in a mausoleum."in some cases the charges were fair, in other cases not.in any case it struck me that … [Read more...]