stephen-1956

When I watched this series in the 1980's, I could never make out if Howard's Way was meant to be a comedy, a soap or trying to be a serious drama. After watching the whole series recently on UK drama, I've definitely come to the conclusion that it's a comedy. Ken masters clothes set the tone with some extraordinary combinations and the way he wore them, sleeves rolled up! All he needed to complete the look was a red nose and he'd be the perfect clown. The designs of Jan Howard's fashion house were pretty awful too, but she still manages to expand at an incredible rate, opening shops, factories and boutiques everywhere, ending up taking her company public. Some of the cast would fit perfectly into a sailing club sit-com.

Which brings me to the script.,I could almost predict what was going to be said, or happen. It was all so stereotyped. Examples include Ken Masters running out of fuel on a powerboat race, James Brooke suddenly coming out with 'stunning' designs after a night of passion with Jan, Mark Foster committing suicide in his powerboat, Episodes ended with dramatic scenes (like Leo being swept overboard), but the next episode these events hardly get a mention. The tragic death of lead actor Maurice Colbourne in series 5 (Tom Howard) is barely mentioned, almost like the character never existed. Story lines often led to nowhere too, like the break ins at the Mermaid Yard, which makes me wonder why they were filmed or mentioned in the first place.

As for the characters, by far the most annoying is Abbey. Utterly miserable, depressing and unlikable. They way she ditches Leo, months after having his child and apparently being so in love with him as to agreeing to marry him, shows her to be a truly despicable person. I can't believe any man would want to marry her anyway, but here we are supposed to believe two men are desperate for her hand. One is a super smooth, smug, very rich, tall dark handsome American, who could just about pull any girl with his money, looks and power, and then there's soppy Leo, who fathers her second child. Leo is like a spoiled little boy during most of the series, especially if he doesn't get his way. (The first Orrin was a far more believable casting as Abbey's lover..The actor that played the later Orrin was completely wrong). Ken Masters, complete with a pouting mouth after every sentence, is completely untrustworthy, but somehow manages now only to keep regaining the trust of people he's used and abused, but also to extract money from a magic tree to fund his various schemes. In the early series he loses £750,000 on a failed marina scheme with Charles Frere, but there is no mention of how he pays this debt off, and then another £100,000 in another venture with the Frere's, which also comes from nowhere. But still bank chairman Sir John is happy to lend him vast sums of money with that disastrous track record! (I'd be very worried if Sir John was chairman of my bank!). And why would Leo go and work for someone who'd had him beaten up so badly he ended up in hospital? Everyone who sleeps with Jan Howard falls in love or wants to marry her, and her 'stamp your foot if it's not going your way' business style are, to say the least, childish at times. Charles Frere is more realistic as a businessman, but the silly and endless battles with his father ruin his credibility. The casting of Bruce Bould as a powerful director made me laugh as I couldn't stop thinking of him saying "super" in the Reginald Perrin series! Gerald Urquhart states the obvious in most of his dialogue, as does Avril Rolfe, Lynn Howard, Kate Harvey, Sir John & his successor Admiral Redfern..Without question, the best two characters were Jack Rolfe and Bill Sayers, who were a great double act and often had me laughing.

The ending is pure comedy gold. Abbey, who, from nowhere and with no business experience, manages somehow (and unexplained) to persuade the shareholders of Frere Holdings Plc, a huge, very successful public company, that Charles Frere, her father and the chairman, is not up to the task, despite decades of profits, success and expansion, Leo takes over the Mermaid Yard....he's come a long way through the series, from environmental activist, to petrol pump attendant, to selling boats, to powerboat champion, to senior manager businessman, to America Cup boat designer!! Jan's company goes public, Lynn Howard becomes pregnant by Charles Frere, despite her almost dying in an incident after a previous relationship with him, (are the Howard children mentally ill getting involved with people that nearly killed them?!) and Ken Masters takes over just about everything without a mention of how he's managed to extract millions to fund these ventures!

The strange thing is that it is a very watchable series. The scenery and settings were excellent, lovely to see some of the beautiful Isle of Wight, the sailing scenes are well done, and despite everything mentioned above, it's worth watching if you want pure escapism without too much realism. Howard's Way is almost so bad it was actually quite good!

Having watched The Virginian growing up, I was thrilled to purchase the entire 9 series on DVD. Watching them through in 2020/2021, the stories hold up surprisingly well, the production values are excellent considering when this was made, and the speed they made them. Drury is superb as The Virginian, and Doug MaClure is equally excellent as Trampas. If you like Westerns, try and find this series on DVD or on TV re-runs. No silly stunts, no over the top computer graphics, just good acting, by an excellent cast of regulars and guests, and well written stories which often make you think. Forget the reviews on here which say this is too long as the 75 minute format give stories and characters time to develop. Easily my personal favourite Western series, and much better than 90% of Western films out there.

I loved this show when growing up and managed to recently get the entire series on DVD. Pete Duel was outstanding as Hannibal Hayes and his tragic suicide stopped a show at the peak of its success. Roger Davis stepped in but for me he was miscast and obviously others agree as the ratings dropped so the show didn't last much longer. The stories were entertaining, even after Duel's death, but the brilliant chemistry Murphy had with Duel was never the same with Davis. Looking at the show again after so long I found it has held up well and doesn't feel dated. For me it was a fine western comedy drama well worth watching if you get the chance.

I much prefer films that have a credible and interesting story and this is such a film. The acting is excellent with both lead actors in top form. For me, the one downside and why I only gave it a 6 was I felt the film was 30 minutes too long. I like films to unfold, but it just seems to drag at times. Cut some scenes and this would certainly be a much better film in my opinion and I would have given it at least an 8. Still worth watching for a decent story and excellent acting.

There is no doubt who steals this film. Richard Gere is perfect as Zak Mayo, David Keith and Debra Winger are decent support, but the film is taken over by the brilliant Louis Gossett Jr. He is fantastic as sergeant Foley and every scene he is in he takes over. Otherwise, I found the film entertaining, but soppy and silly in parts, especially the ending although I'm sure this is the ending most expected. Keith's suicide scene is well played, as are scenes in the bunkhouse, but in my mind the best parts of this film all featured Louis Gossett Jr.

Yet again we have a film made which is nothing other than special effects. Why oh why doesn't Hollywood start putting a story first, rather than totally unbelievable stunts and computer graphics? Here, we have a medical officer, who can't pilot a space craft without crashing, trying to land a stricken ship back to earth after reading a thin handbook/manual in minutes (a shorter time than it takes most people to read the instruction booklet on their new lawnmower). Then she 'chats' with a grinning dead George Clooney for support and guidance. Visually stunning, terrible acting, unbelievable non story, dreadful script, and boring. In fact it's the very first time my girlfriend fell asleep in a cinema. If she hadn't I would have left long before the end. Please, please Hollywood, start putting the script and story first, and add only the effects needed to enhance that story later. If you want to watch a proper space film, go and see Apollo 13. Proper story, fabulous acting, with superb actors, not bubblegum actors,, and just the right amount of effects.

So many plot faults, far too much emphasis on camera work and special effects. Totally unbelievable plot, just cannot believe this was based on a true story. I think it was part of a vivid imagination. Two soldiers in a bunker, big explosion, one is blinded, neither are deafened, and miraculously the blinded soldier gets his sight back within a minute of leaving the bunker. Neither are even slightly injured, even though they were within yards of the explosion. One soldier left on a highly important and secret mission and he tells a bunch of soldiers in the back of a van. The commanding officer, although aware of his mission just dumps him without support or backup. These are just two of countless examples of stupidity that totally ruined what could have been a great film. Camera work was superb, the acting okay, the story was just silly. Yet another example of modern directors putting effects before a story. I wish directors would watch the old black and white war films to understand true story telling.

I'm not really into TV series, and I loathe soaps. So I approached Yellowstone with caution, watching it mainly because I admire Kevin Costner. I enjoyed the first episode which set things up, and having now watched all three seasons I can honestly say the whole series has been outstanding. A couple of episodes in series 3 were a little slow, but that doesn't matter as there is so much action in other episodes it's nice to slow things down. The music is excellent, the scenery is outstanding, the acting is top notch, and the stories are well paced. Costner is superb as John Dutton, he looks born for this part, and is totally convincing in all his scenes. I'm looking forward to series four, and if the writing and acting continues to be of the same standard, I hope the series runs for years to come. There are certainly many avenues for this series to go down as future seasons unfold.

If you want to watch a movie about a manic depressed, mentally ill man killing people then this is for you. Far too long, boring, depressing and little story. A great advert for the cigarette companies. I couldn't wait for it to end.