Sunday, February 18, 2007

It's Not Cable, It's Network TV

Tonight David and I watched the last hour of Prime Suspect: the Last Witness. We missed the first hour because we were watching Brothers and Sisters, the ABC hit written by playwright John Robin Baitz. Brothers and Sisters trumps any other TV Sunday nights at our house, not the least because of the great cast, including Sally Fields, Calista Flockhart, Rachel Griffiths and Rob Lowe. But really it's the writing that rocks. Tonight's show featured the word "slattern" and when was the last time you heard that word on prime time? Or saw two guys making out? On network, mind you.

I first saw Prime Suspect in 1991 on PBS. 15 years ago. Wow. I remember being stunned by how much it thrilled me to watch it. I fell in love with Helen Mirren as Detective Jane Tennyson, the policewoman of Scotland Yard who solves serial murder mysteries while having to deal with sexist B.S. from her male comrades. I'm so glad that she's being lauded now by the media: the New Yorker article, the cover of the New York Times Magazine. She deserves it royally.

2 comments:

Powergirl said...
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eflows said...

I am so in love with Helen Mirren. That first Prime Suspect was amazing. I didn't like the next couple so much, but the last one was great.