"VICTORIA" Season Two (2017) Episode Ranking

 

Below is my ranking of the Season Two episodes of the ITV series called "VICTORIA". Created by Daisy Goodwin, the series stars Jenna Coleman as Queen Victoria:

"VICTORIA" SEASON TWO (2017) EPISODE RANKING



1. (2.06) "Faith, Hope & Charity" - Horrified by the Great Famine in Ireland, both Queen Victoria and the Reverend Robert Traill try to persuade Prime Minister Robert Peel's government and the British clergy in the country to take action.





2. (2.09) "Comfort and Joy" - In this Christmas episode, a pregnant Victoria receives a "gift" from King Gezo of Dahomey in the form of a young African princess who had been his political prisoner. Meanwhile, Prince Albert desperately tries to introduce the German Christmas custom to the British court, despite the tension from unwelcome guests and personal problems.





3. (2.01) "A Soldier's Daughter" - While Victoria deals with postnatal depression following the birth of her oldest child, Princess Victoria, Albert and Peel scramble to hide the grisly details of the Retreat From Kabul near the end of the First Anglo-Afghan War.





4. (2.07) "The King Over the Water" - Following two assassination attempts, Victoria and Albert travel to the Scottish Highlands becomes guests at the 6th Duke of Atholl's home, Blair Castle, for a private retreat. However, the retreat is nearly ruined when the couple ends up lost in the countryside.





5. (2.08) "The Luxury of Conscience" - Albert unwittingly creates more political problems for Peel, when he supports the latter's efforts to repeal the Corn Laws.





6. (2.04) "The Sins of the Father" - Victoria gives birth to a second child, Prince Albert-Edward (future King Edward VII). While she deals with postnatal depression for the second time, Albert's father dies. Albert travels to Coburg and learns an ugly family secret from his uncle, King Leopold of the Belgians.





7. (2.05) "Entente Cordiale" - Victoria drags Albert and the British Court to France in an effort to convince the country's King Louis Phillippe I to deter the latter from arranging a marriage between his son Duke of Montpensier and Queen Isabel II of Spain.





8. (2.03) "Warp and Weft" - Moved by the plight of a silk weaver in Spitalfields, Victoria throws a lavish medieval ball at Buckingham Palace with all attendees wearing outfits made in the impoverished area. Meanwhile, she becomes aware of former Prime Minister Lord Melbourne's failing health.





9. (2.02) "The Green-Eyed Monster" - Victoria becomes pregnant with her second child and develops a jealous suspicion that Albert might be attracted to Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, who is a mathematician associated with the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge.

"ALL IN A NIGHT'S WORK" (1961) Photo Gallery

 

Below are images from the 1961 comedy, "ALL IN A NIGHT'S WORK". Directed by Joseph Anthony, the movie starred Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine:




"ALL IN A NIGHT'S WORK" (1961) Photo Gallery

"JULIE AND JULIA" (2009) Review

 

Below is my review of Nora Ephron's 2009 comedy-drama, "JULIE AND JULIA", about the life of celebrity chef, Julia Child and the New York blogger who was inspired by her, Julie Powell:





"JULIE AND JULIA" (2009) Review

Written and directed by Nora Ephron, "JULIE AND JULIA" depicts events in the life of chef Julia Child during the early years in her culinary career; contrasting with the life of a woman named Julie Powell, who aspires to cook all 524 recipes from Child's cookbook during a single year. Ephron had based her screenplay on two books - "My Life in France", Child's autobiography, written with Alex Prud'homme; and "Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously" by Powell. Two-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep portrayed Julia Child and two-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams portrayed Julie Powell.

The plot is simple. A New Yorker named Julie Powell, who works for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to help victims of the 9/11 bombings, has become disatisfied with her life when she realizes that her friends (or should I say acquaintances?) have more exciting professional lives. To help her deal with her apathy and knowing that she is an excellent cook, husband Eric (Chris Messina) suggests that she create a blog to record her experiences in cooking a recipe (each day) from Julia Child's famous cookbook, " Mastering the Art of French Cooking". Woven in to Powell's story is Child's experiences as the wife of an American diplomat in Paris during the late 1940s and early 1950s. The movie also reveals Child's entry into the world of French cuisine and her attempts to write and publish a cookbook on French cooking for Americans.

"JULIE AND JULIA" was not a movie that exactly shook my world. It was a warm and engaging look into the lives of two women whose interest in French cuisine attracted the attention of the public. In the case of Julia Child, her decade long attempt to write a cookbook on French cuisine led to her becoming a television celebrity and icon. Julie Powell's attempt to recount her experiences in preparing the recipes from Child's cookbook led to her blog, media attention and this movie. I have read a few reviews of the movie and most critics and filmgoers seemed more interested in Child's early years as a chef in France than they were by Powell's experiences with her blog. Granted, the Child sequences were a lot of fun, due to Streep's performance of the charming, enthusiastic and fun-loving chef. But I must admit to being surprised by how much I had enjoyed Powell's experiences with her blog. I realize that I am going to be bashed for this, but Powell's experiences seemed to have more emotional substance to them.

I am not saying that the Powell sequences were better written or more entertaining. But due to Ephron's portrayal of the Texan-turned-New Yorker, the Powell sequences seemed more complex and emotionally satisfying. In other words, Amy Adams - who portrayed Powell - had the meatier role. Most critics and fans of the film would disagree with me. After all, it seemed very obvious that Streep was having a ball portraying the enthusiastic and fun loving Julia Child. Her ability to easily befriend many of the French and her deepening love for French cuisine made it quite easy to see how she quickly became a celebrity. But Ephron never really delved into the darker aspects of Child's character or marriage - except touch upon the chef's disappointment at being childless. She certainly did with Powell. And Amy Adams did a superb job in re-creating a very complex and occasionally insecure personality. But I suspect that when the awards season rolls around the corner, it will be Streep who will earn most of the nominations . . . or perhaps all of them.

The rest of the cast of "JULIE AND JULIA" were just as excellent as Streep and Adams. Stanley Tucci portrayed Child's diplomat husband, Paul Child. He gave a warm, yet more restrained performance as a man happily caught up in his wife's growing interest in becoming a chef; yet at the same time, conveyed his character's unhappiness with his failing diplomatic career due to a change in the country's political winds. Like Adams, Chris Messina had a more difficult role as Powell's husband, Eric Powell. Unlike Child, he has to deal with his frustration in his wife's growing obsession with her blog . . . along with her occasional bouts with arrogance, insecurity and self-absorption. And at one point in the film, he loses his temper in spectacular fashion. I also enjoyed Linda Emond's performance as French cook Simone Beck, who co-authored Child's cookbook; and Mary Lynn Rajskub as Powell's acerbic friend, Amy. One other performance that really caught my eye belonged to Jane Lynch as Julia Child's equally extroverted sister, Dorothy McWilliams. Watching Lynch and Streep portray the McWilliams sisters take Paris by storm was a joy to behold.

Although I had enjoyed "JULIA AND JULIA", I had a few problems with it. One, it was too long. The movie's pacing started out fine. Unfortunately, I was ready for it to end at least twenty minutes before it actually did. By 100 minutes into the film, the pacing began to drag. And although I had no problems with the movie's alternating storylines, I felt that it failed to segue smoothly between Child and Powell's stories. The jump from Powell's story to Child's and back seemed ragged and uneven to me. And as I had pointed out before, the story surrounding Child's story seemed less emotionally complex and more frothy in compare to Powell's story, giving me another reason to view the movie as uneven.

Despite its flaws, "JULIE AND JULIA" is an entertaining film that many who are into cooking or food would enjoy. Both Meryl Streep and Amy Adams gave first-rate performances. And the movie also gave filmgoers a peek into life for Americans in post-World War II Paris. In the end, I found the movie enjoyable, but not earth-shattering. I would recommend it.

Favorite Episodes of "STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE" Season Six (1997-1998)

 

Below is a list of my favorite episodes from Season Six of "STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE". Created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller; the series starred Avery Brooks as Captain Benjamin Sisko:

FAVORITE EPISODES OF "STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE" SEASON SIX (1997-1998)



1. (6.19) "In the Pale Moonlight" - In an effort to acquire more allies for the Federation's war against the Dominion, Captain Benjamin Sisko recruits former Cardassian spy Garak's help to manipulate the Romulans into joining the war effort. Stephen McHattie guest starred.





2. (6.07) "You Are Cordially Invited" - Lieutenant Commander Worf and Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax endure a week of Klingon trials that include a four-day bachelor party and dealing with a potentially hostile "mother-in-law" in preparation for their rushed wedding.





3. (6.13) "Far Beyond the Stars" - Sisko experiences a full sensory vision from the Prophets in which he is science-fiction writer who struggles with civil rights, inequality and his own demons in 1950s New York City.





4. (6.26) "Tears Of The Prophets" - Sisko ignores a warning from the Prophets and leads a Federation invasion into Cardassian territory with fatal consequences.





5. (6.20) "His Way" - Deep Space Nine's Security Chief Odo seeks advice on how to romance Major Kira Nerys from a holographic lounge singer from the 1960s named Vic Fontaine. James Darren guest-starred.

R.I.P. James Darren (1936-2024)

"Scrooged" (1987)

"Oliver Twist" (1948)

"Oliver Twist" (1968)

"The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby" (1947)

"The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby" (2001)

"Nicholas Nickleby" (2002)

"Martin Chuzzlewit" (1994)*

"Dombey and Son" (1969)

"Dombey and Son" (1983)*

"Dombais et fils" (2007)*

"David Copperfield" (1935)*

"David Copperfield" (1986)

"David Copperfield" (2000)

"Bleak House" (1959)*

"Bleak House" (1985)*

"Bleak House" (2005)*

"Hard Times" (1977)

"Hard Times" (1994)

"Little Dorrit" (1987)

"Little Dorrit" (2008)*

"A Tale of Two Cities" (1935)

"Great Expectations" (1946)

"Great Expectations" (1974)

"Great Expectations" (1999)

"Great Expectations" (2011)

"Great Expectations" (2023)

"Our Mutual Friend" (1958)

"Our Mutual Friend" (1976)*

"Our Mutual Friend" (1998)*

"THE A.B.C. MURDERS" (1992) Photo Gallery

 

Below are images from "THE A.B.C. MURDERS", the 1992 adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1936 novel. The television movie starred David Suchet as Hercule Poirot:




"THE A.B.C. MURDERS" (1992) Photo Gallery