ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK may be the most tolerant show on television (or “television,” or whatever it is we’re calling distributed entertainment content in this new Netflixed world).  All the characters, even those who commit the most heinous acts–inmates and guards both–have their reasons and their frailties.  They’re miserably in love, or living […]

  See also:  THE SKED NETFLIX REVIEW:  “Arrested Development” (Episodes 1-3)                  THE SKED NETFLIX REVIEW:  “Arrested Development” (Episodes 4-7) Rounding into the second half of Netflix’s ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT Season 4, the storyline is starting to become as twisty as a John Le Carre espionage thriller–a quiz, at this point, about just who wants and […]

    See also:  THE SKED NETFLIX REVIEW:  “Arrested Development” (Episodes 1-3) THE SKED NETFLIX REVIEW:  “Arrested Development” (Episodes 4-7) THE SKED NETFLIX REVIEW:  “Arrested Development” (Episodes 8-11) It turned out that the one thing not to expect from Season 4 of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT was an ending.  Rather than build its intricately plotted season toward […]

  With the arrival of ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK after House of Cards, Hemlock Grove and Arrested Development, Netflix has completed the first quartet of its initial plunge into high-profile original programming .  Based on the available evidence (Netflix doesn’t release viewership information), the process has gone extremely well, with both subscriptions and the stock […]

  Viewers familiar with the original British HOUSE OF CARDS won’t be stunned by The Thing That Happens in the first episode of its Netflix second season, but it will start things off with a bang for those who aren’t.  Its timing represents a smart use by US series creator Beau Willimon and the other […]

  House of Cards Season 2 Eps 1-3 Review Here. A 13-hour season may be a bit too much free rein for HOUSE OF CARDS US series creator Beau Willimon, who is enthralled by the intricately devious strategems of politics, but lacks Aaron Sorkin’s genius for condensing them into bite-sized, easily comprehensible capsules.  So the […]

  House of Cards Season 2 Eps 1-3 Review Here. Eps 4-7 Review Here. At the three-quarters mark, this season of HOUSE OF CARDS has a somewhat different feel, not just from the English original but from the initial Netflix season.  While the series may never give Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) an antagonist who can […]

  House of Cards Season 2 Eps 1-3 Review Here. Eps 4-7 Review Here. Eps 8-10 Review Here. It’s a paradox of the Netflix version of HOUSE OF CARDS that in many ways, its least interesting character is the one at its center.  Pick the wildlife metaphor of choice:  Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) is a […]