Tag: Why Didn't They Ask Evans

SHOW OF THE WEEK: The First Lady (April 17, 9 p.m., Crave)

“The First Lady” is the kind of show you really want to like. What could be more admirable than shining a light on the women behind the most powerful men in the United States, arguably the world, women who contribute to that power even if their contributions are largely unsung?

And to be sure, there are things to like here, beginning with the fact that three very capable actors, Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Gillian Anderson, are portraying Michelle Obama, Betty Ford and Eleanor Roosevelt, respectively. All three women have clearly brought great care and attention to their roles.

Of the three, Pfeiffer’s performance is the one that seems the least like imitation.

Over the five (of 10) episodes I watched, I was often distracted by how Davis and, to a lesser extent, Anderson held their mouths; the former to sound like Obama; the latter to approximate Roosevelt’s overbite.

There’s also the fact that Betty Ford’s story is such a relatably human one, what with her breast cancer diagnosis and addiction to alcohol and pain pills. Pfeiffer does full justice to both the character’s vulnerabilities and strengths, bringing to life her grace, her warmth, her determination and also her frustration at the burdens of being a political wife. But her marriage to Gerald Ford (played by Aaron Eckhart) is portrayed as a loving partnership.

Alas, warmth isn’t a trait that comes through in the portrait of Obama, aside from depictions of the younger Michelle’s (Jayme Lawson) relationship with her parents. I’m not saying that women have to be warm and fuzzy, but Obama’s default in her interactions with Barack (O-T Fagbenle), his staff and her daughters seems to be stuck on formidable and fierce.

Anderson gives us Roosevelt’s great intelligence and energy, her insecurity about her “plain” appearance, her deep hurt over the discovery that Franklin (Kiefer Sutherland) was having an affair with her secretary, which shifted their marriage from a romantic to a platonic one.

Though it may be hard to see what these three women have in common, the show presents them as sharing a reluctance to be first ladies and pushing back against the expectation that, as such, they would content themselves with ladylike activities like decorating and gardening. It probably should be a shock that kind of sexism has persisted from 1932 through 2008 (and beyond), except it isn’t.

As I said, “The First Lady” is a show you want to like and it’s likeable enough as a standard sort of biopic treatment of three worthy women, but it never reaches the depths of really well done biographical fiction like “The Crown.”

Crave also has Season 4 of the “Things We Do in the Shadows” movie spinoff “Wellington Paranormal” on April 15.

Short Takes

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? (April 12, BritBox)

Looking for something fun to watch? How about an Agatha Christie mystery in which a handsome young ex-naval officer and his aristocratic female friend try to answer the question of the title: “Why didn’t they ask Evans?” Those are the last words of a man whom Bobby Jones (Will Poulter, “Dopesick”) tries to help after he finds him dying at the foot of some cliffs in the Welsh seaside town of Marchbolt. It seems to be an open and shut case of accidental death, but then Bobby is poisoned and the photo he saw in the dead man’s pocket doesn’t match the one published in the local paper. He and his childhood friend Lady Frances Derwent (Lucy Boynton), a.k.a. Frankie, concoct a scheme to get inside the English countryside home of a man they suspect of switching the photos and possibly even pushing the victim off the cliffs. Along the way to a solution, there are more dead bodies and an attempt on the life of “Knocker” Beadon (Jonathan Jules), Bobby’s business partner in a used car dealership. The production has the distinction of being written and directed by actor Hugh Laurie, who also plays a small role as the director of a local asylum and a potential villain. Published in 1934, “Evans” is perhaps not one of Christie’s most revered books, but it makes for a lively three-part series with characters who are easy to root for and lovingly rendered period details.

Anatomy of a Scandal (April 15, Netflix)

This series is essentially a potboiler dressed up to look like prestige drama. Coming from prolific producer David E. Kelley and with a cast that includes Sienna Miller, Michelle Dockery of “Downton Abbey” and Rupert Friend (whom I so identify with “Homeland” that I kept referring to his character as Peter in my notes), it has style but falls short on substance. Friend plays James Whitehouse, a government minister caught cheating on his wife Sophie (Sienna Miller) with an underling who then accuses him of rape. Dockery plays Kate Woodcroft, the lawyer who prosecutes the rape case. “Scandal” has nothing enlightening to say about sexual assault or the liberties taken by powerful men. In fact, the victim in the rape case, Olivia (Naomi Scott), is a cipher, there mainly so the show can probe James’ and Sophie’s shared past as privileged Oxford students, a past that has relevance to Kate. James and his friend the prime minister (Geoffrey Streatfeild) were part of a nasty group of toffs back then called the Libertines, whose main purpose seemed to be drinking to excess and sexually harassing female students. The group’s activities take on added significance in the somewhat ridiculous ending to the show’s six episodes. By that point, however, you might not give a toss about what happens to James or Sophie.

There is a ton of other Netflix content out this week, including the women’s prison comedy “Hard Cell” (April 12); docuseries “Our Great National Parks” (April 13), narrated by former president Barack Obama; Season 2 of Argentinian comedy series “Almost Happy” (April 13); Brazilian comedy series “Smother-in-Law” (April 13); Spanish series “Heirs to the Land” (April 15) and the Indian crime drama “Mai” (April 15).

Swimming With Sharks (April 15, Roku)

This Hollywood drama is like a modern-day “All About Eve” in which the wide-eyed newbie is less interested in undermining the Hollywood star than in worshipping her. Kiernan Shipka (“Mad Men,” “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”) is Lou, who becomes an intern in the office of studio exec Joyce (Diane Kruger) and soon makes herself indispensable, albeit through sometimes drastic means. It becomes clear that Lou didn’t land in Joyce’s office by accident. It also becomes clear that Lou isn’t who she says she is. Joyce, meanwhile, is experiencing both personal and professional turmoil behind the icy demeanour: she’s battling to get a prestige literary film adaptation made while the racist and misogynist head of the studio (Donald Sutherland in a particularly unsavoury role) keeps a tight hold on the purse strings; and she’s trying to get pregnant with her philandering artist boyfriend (Gerardo Celasco). Meanwhile there’s psychosexual tension building between her and Lou, which culminates in them spending the weekend together at Joyce’s beach house, where Lou indulges a sexual fantasy of Joyce’s. It’s one of a number of lurid scenes that pop up in “Sharks,” some of which seem more like kinky window dressing than integral to the plot. In fact, the series as a whole, based on the 1994 film of the same name, can feel like empty calories. To make a show that posits Hollywood as a cutthroat place full of backstabbers and sycophants is nothing new. Though Shipka makes Lou extremely watchable, her twisted tale doesn’t add anything revelatory to that narrative.

Odds and Ends

You can get a double dose of comedian Paul Rabliauskas this week. The performer from Poplar River First Nation has a comedy special debuting on Crave, “Paul Rabliauskas: Uncle” (April 15), shot during the 2021 Just for Laughs festival in Montreal. He also co-stars in the web series “DJ Burnt Bannock” (April 11, APTN lumi). The comedy stars creator Darcy Waite as would-be DJ Kevin Cardinal, with Rablliauskas as his cousin Allan and Joy Keeper as his Kookum.

Prime Video seems quite bullish on its new neo-western/supernatural mystery “Outer Range” (April 15), which stars Josh Brolin and Canadians Tamara Podemski and Noah Reid of “Schitt’s Creek.” Reviews are embargoed until Wednesday.

I didn’t have time to screen more than one episode of “Roar” (April 15, Apple TV Plus), not enough to give it a fair review.

Sorry, but even if I’d had the time I wouldn’t have screened “The Kardashians” (April 14) on Disney Plus. Disney also has “Scrat Tales” (April 13), animated shorts starring Scrat from the “Ice Age” movies.

Finally, Global and StackTV have the new CBS competition series “Come Dance With Me” (April 15, 8 p.m.), in which young contestants partner with an untrained family member.

NOTE: The listings here are in Eastern Standard Time and I’ve verified the times where possible, but it’s always best to check listings for your own area. The selection of programs reviewed reflects what I’m given access to by networks and streamers, whether reviews are embargoed, how many shows I have time to watch and my own personal taste. The Odds and Ends section includes shows that I have not watched.