Acorn TV

News and Quick Comments

“The Nest” brings subtlety and venom

“The Nest” (shown here) arrives Monday (July 13) on Acorn, giving us one of those couples we can all envy.
Rich, smart and attractive, they live in a gorgeous, waterfront home near Glasgow. And then … well, then they meet a woman who has a mysterious past and nothing to lose.
Parts of that plot could describe many movies. This could be “Chloe” with Amanda Seyfried or “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” with Rebecca De Mornay or countless others. Storytellers love to start with perfection, then stir things up.
But “The Nest” has the advantage of time and detail. It’s a five-hour story – the first two hours debut Monday on www.acorn.tv – with the time to provide depth to each character, while spinning them through fresh detours. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 10, 2020
Stories

Stuck at home? Here are some strong choices

As the virus shutdown continues, it’s time to dive deeper into the TV pool.
I’m guessing you’ve already found some of the streaming giants, from Amazon’s marvelous “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” to Netflix’s deeply observant “The Crown.” But now let me offer some of my personal preference to dig through.
A few are coming up quickly – the first half of a nature gem (shown here) on Monday (March 23), the season-finale of “This Is Us” on Tuesday. Most, however, are easy to find; here they are, in five chunks: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 21, 2020
News and Quick Comments

More virus news: Streamers extend, Showtime delays

For TV viewers, the coronavirus impact brings some good news, plus more bad.
The good: Two screening services – Acorn (including a flashy new “Miss Fisher” mystery, shown here) and Sundance Now – have extended their free trial period from seven days to 30.
And the bad: Some shows are being delayed. FX is pushing back “Fargo”; Showtime has some shows going ahead and others not.
There have beenother virus-related TVnews lately, which you can find by hitting “news and quick comments.” The new ones are : Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 18, 2020
Stories

A good time for actors, great time for ‘Blood’

Glancing over four decades of TV and movies, Adrian Dunbar was upbeat
.“This is a great time to be an actor,” he said.
He said that quite convincingly – well, actors can do that – and the facts back him up.
Right now, Dunbar, 61, has deeply nuanced roles in two British shows that reach the U.S. via streaming.In “Line of Duty,” he plays an honest-but-troubled cop; in “Blood” and its jolting new seque (shown here)l, he’s an earnest-but-troubled doctor. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 6, 2020
Stories

“Agatha” brightens quaint, quiet village

English villages, we’ve learned on TV, are pleasant places designed for murder mysteries
.They have quaint buildings and quiet people, stone walls and stoic constables. So imagine the fictional village of Carsley, when the very-fictional Agatha Raisin swooped in.
“It was quite a sleepy village before she came in,” said Matt McCooey, who plays local cop Bill Wong in the “Agatha Raisin” tales. “And then this whirl of color and energy and beauty.”
That’s Agatha, played by Ashley Jensen (shown here with McCooey). “The color palette is just so glorious and such fun to pick out when we go to costume fittings,” Jensen said. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 7, 2020
News and Quick Comments

“Murdoch” brings some more good-guy mysteries

During the holidays, our TV tastes might mellow a tad.
We don’t need to probe the darkest recesses of our souls. We might settle for a decent drama about some nice folks.
So it’s logical that a streaming service (www.acorn.tv) is releasing the new “Murdoch Mysteries” season on Christmas Day.
This is nice-guy television. It’s pleasant, precise and likable; in short, it’s Canadian. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 21, 2019
Stories

Doc Martin is back, glower and all

For a good chunk of Martin Clunes’ year, the transformation is total.
The suit and tie go on; the glower returns. He becomes a country doctor with a city soul; he becomes a guy with great medical skill – unless blood is involved – and an awful bedside manner.
Then the “Doc Martin” filming ends and he reverts to being the opposite. “I’m far too keen to please,” said Clunes (shown here with Caroline Catz, who plays his wife(. “I wish I had his ability to explain to people that he is always right and they are wrong.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 23, 2019
Stories

Yes, Shakespeareans can solve murder mysteries

Great Britain seems to be one big murder mystery. Every Englishwoman and her grandfather are busy committing, solving or writing about homicide.
And Olivia Vinall’s life does nothing to dispute that.
She’s a serious actress, with Shakespearean credits and recent raves for her double role in “The Woman in White.” But now she’s a police detective in the breezy “Queens of Mystery” TV movies. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 5, 2019