I am bringing together my restricted leisure TV viewing this week because of the time I am spending on working through the contributions made in the debate on Libya on Monday and on the prologue of my autobiographical work honouring my parents
The week opened with the two part Waking the Dead a chilling two part portrayal of life in residential care and how the road to hell is often paved with good intentions. A girl, who aged seven years had disappeared from a privately run care home, reappears burned to death in a car.
The Cold Case team led by the excellent Trevor Eve and supported by Sue Johnston in Care discovered that the privately run home far from protecting and caring for children exploited and looked away from the brutality that went on between the children. In this instance a violent disturbed and out of control young boy who had been horribly treated himself for the first five years of his life. He had terrorised the other children and had disappeared from the system as a teenager. However the manager of the establishment had organised the teenage girls into a prostitution ring which earned substantial funds on away days at seaside resorts. The police were paid off by being given a share of the money. Records revealed that a social worker at the establishment had complained about the situation in the home but her claims had been ignored and then covered up. It was found that she and her husband had both died in circumstances where their bodies had not been found.
Rather than attempt to recreate the drama which emerged during the two one hour parts of the story I will explain what happened as the story unfolded to its conclusion. Together with her husband the social worker decided to rescue the seven year old girl, another girl and two boys from the home, and this included the violent boy who had terrorised the other children burning “eye” into their skin. This included the boy who became the current head of the home and who had attempted to disguise the eyes with self inflicted further disfigurement. He was less than honest about his knowledge of the situation because as a boy he had been responsible for taking the money earned by the girls from their prostitution. He had stood by when the seven year old was taken by the couple because he believed she would be better off that her fate if she stayed in the home although his action is now haunted given the way she come to die.
When the Cold Case team contact the mother of the dead girl, a former prostitute and present, drug taker and alcoholic she says something with surprises that she had heard from her daughter that she was happy and later the latest addition to the team(seconded from special services because of something that happened but which has not been disclosed) breaks into the home and discovers the fragments of a burnt letter. The mother was in hospital having attacked a man who was the driver of the girls on their prostitution trips and he had retaliated. She too is now tormented by what happened to her daughter. However we are to learn that responsibility for the way of life of the girl and her death rests with those who kidnapped her.
We also learn that on the night when the girl the violent and disturbed boy was being transferred by the social worker to the remand centre/detention centre the man was then head of the establishment had been knocked down in the vehicle being driven by the woman’s husband. The boy had jumped out of the vehicle and stabbed out the eyes of the head of the home.
We learn that the children taken from the home did live a happy life with the couple who rescued them, taking account that the children were being criminally abuse by the authorities with police connivance. The family in an isolated rural property with a tree house, a property which the Cold Case discover when attempting to trace what happened to the former social worker and her husband who they still believe had died. The only blight on their childhood had been the appearance of a mythical devil figure the equivalent of the bogey man, in this instance wearing a cloth over his head with slits for the eyes. This was used to help them to stick together and not disclose their former lives.
Everything had continued well for a decade until the recently killed girl and former terrorist boy become teenagers and fall in love. This again might have worked well had it not been for the disability of the foster father and the foster mother having commenced sexual relations with the former terrorist boy. The kidnapped girl returns unexpectedly bad catches her boyfriend with the foster mother and she runs off, into high class prostitution, alcohol and drug addict, at one level the life of her mother and the other girls in the child care home
It was only shortly before her death that the girl had attended a private clinic and encountered the doctor there to find that she was her foster sister from the family home. The girl had wanted back in to the family and then discovered that there had been a child from the relationship between the former terrorist and lover and the foster mother. As part of trying to get herself back into the family she had then befriended the girl and then kidnapped her . She had then gone to a meeting with the foster sister, now doctor and the her former lover and he had snapped, killed the girl, burning the body in her car. He had then turned on the foster sister and triggering her previous fear and earlier breakdown she falls over the balcony of her flat to her death, perhaps she was pushed by teh appearance of the foster brother now back to his disturbed and murderous self.
The daughter is traumatised by her experience and that she has also seen the character with head covered in cloth with only two eye slits. While imprisoned in the wardrobe. It is only as the finale approaches that the team realise that the mother of this girl is the believed dead social worker and that the other children are the former children from the home including the former young terrorist!
There is then a series of new horrors. Discovering what has happened the foster father persuades his official daughter and child born to his former social worker wife to go with him to a lock up where he gives her a passport and money to get away abroad if for any reason he is prevented from taking her. The girl fearful of the situation contacts one of the men she regards as older brothers. The former young terrorist has discovered that his father knows it was he who killed and burned the foster sister and then the older foster sister. He tells his “daughter” to wait in the vehicle and returns saying the foster father will join them later, however he has not only killed the man but also gouged out his eyes. The father takes the daughter back to the former family home with the now dilapidated tree house.
Meanwhile Trevor and Sue have been playing bad and good cop with the former social worker and the other foster son and eventually they persuade the mother to reveal the location of the former family home. Sue had explained that although the boy have become a loving brother and good citizen, the stress of recent events had resurrected his past experiences as a child and as a boy. Cornered he attempts to use his daughter as a hostage but filled with competing feelings he lets her go and kills himself. The girl is left, with her natural father dead, the man she knew as father dead, her mother carted off to prison as mostly likely her elder foster brother. A heavy dose of reality this latest double episode.
There was also lots of reality intermingled with great Jazz in the latest episode of Treme, the series about life in New Orleans after the failure of the flooding defences following Cyclone Katrina. Life is lived to full by everyone.
John Goodman as the write, English Professor has produced another You Tube outburst full of expletives which has brought him fame in town, with one man of society who he and his wife meet at a restaurant saying his outbursts of expletives have a poetic quality as well as speaking up for the city. However he continues not to work on his novel and he is summoned to see his agent which he fears means the publishers will be wanting their advance back because of the failure to produce as new work after six years and he had sent the money.
Antione discovers the trombone taken from him by the police in a pawn shop and when Goodman’s wife Toni, gets to see the local police chief to complain he admits that half the force abandoned their posts at the time Katrina, others had left or were disciplined because of what then happened and the situation is not getting better. He uses police funds to settle the pawn ticket. Meanwhile Antoine already has a brand new Trombone provided by an admirer of his work and of New Orleans Jazz who has travelled from Japan, Both Antoine and Goodman are getting ready for the Krewe du Vieux Carnival.
I had to look this up and found that
“ The Krewe du Vieux is a New Orleans Mardi Gras or Carnival krewe, originally and more fully known as the Krewe du Vieux Carré. The parade begins in the Marigny and slowly meanders its way through the Vieux Carre ("Vieux Carre" being another term for the city's French Quarter). It is one of the earliest parades of the New Orleans Carnival calendar, and is noted for wild satirical and adult themes, as well as for showcasing a large number of New Orleans' best marching bands.
The Krewe du Vieux was established in 1987. It is actually an amalgamation of several smaller semi-independent krewes (or sub-krewes) that pool their resources together for parade permits and other expenses and obligations. Several of the sub-krewes predate the Krewe du Vieux, originating as walking clubs or as sub-krewes of the defunct Krewe of Clones in the 1970s and early 1980s.
The Krewe du Vieux is perhaps simultaneously the most individualistic and the most traditional of all New Orleans parading krewes. It has no large tractor pulled floats like the larger krewes, using only old style small human or mule drawn floats interspersed with marchers on foot. It has no recorded music blaring from boom box trucks, for the Krewe du Vieux uses music only from live bands. The floats are hand made and decorated by members of the respective sub-krewes, often with themes satirizing local politics and customs, sometimes of a bawdy nature — in such aspects arguably closer to early 19th century Carnival traditions than any other Krewe currently parading. The Krewe du Vieux is the only Krewe still allowed to parade through the French Quarter (other than some small walking Krewes on Mardi Gras Day); krewes with larger floats have been prohibited in the narrow streets of the old town since the 1970s.
The Krewe honours as its monarch each year a New Orleanian particularly notable as a representative of the local culture. Various local musicians, artists, writers, and colourful characters have reigned as King or Queen, including Danny Barker, Andrei Codrescu, Ernie K-Doe, Irma Thomas, Ronnie Virgets, and Dr. John. In 2006, less than six months after Hurricane Katrina made landfall, Krewe du Vieux was the first Mardi Gras parade to roll through the streets of New Orleans. The theme that year was "C'est Levee".In 2011, Krewe du Vieux celebrated their silver anniversary under the banner "25 Years Wasted". Don Marshall, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Foundation Executive Director ruled as King. The parade was blessed with beautiful weather and huge crowds.” So now we all know.
Also involved in the festivities and political reactions to the disaster Davis enlists an all start band and singers to make a special recording of Shame Shame Shame with revised Lyrics and which is played in full during the programme. Shame Shame Shame is a great number and the combination of the first class musicians and singers and the new lyrics is fantastic. Having encountered the neighbours he was harassing by playing loud music with open window and amplifiers he has relented.
The young female violinist is fed up with the lack of privacy arising from the arrival of the friend of boyfriend from his aborted taking to the road. She discovers has bought drugs while on the trip but what fuels her to insisting the friend leaves after their experience at the Krewe du Vieux.
Meanwhile the girl friend of Davis the Restaurant owner Jeanette is cheered up when four other chefs call for a meal unannounced and she pulls out all the stops and they are appreciative of her efforts. Meanwhile Toni, Goodman’s wife, has continued her search for Daymo and sees a reference to the name of the street of Jeanette’s restaurant in the badly flood damaged probation records. She then discovers that he had been successfully working at the restaurant and on the day of the disaster Jeanette had sent him back to get the meat and distribute and she had not seen him since and the meat had gone bad and had to be thrown away.
Albert wants to use some unoccupied Housing Association property to accommodate people coming back for the Krewe du Vieux and pressed a city councillor to do something but is refused because it is not something the city has responsibility for. This brings to the Carnival which gets off to a great start but then someone lets off a gun, there are people wounded possible killed. This emphases that while everyone is trying hard to get back to normal and rebuild the community the drug dealers and other criminals are also back. Shame Shame Shame.
The next episode of Treme begins with Davis campaigning to become a local councillor making wild promises and selling copies of his protest song Shame Shame Shame. I also realise that the carnival parade of the last episode was not the famous Krewe du Vieux which is still ahead. Davis then appears on a local TV station with other candidates and one of his commitments is to hold a bribery day month when the local corrupt politicians and official cab be honest about their activities without fear of prosecution! The producer is impressed with his attitude and offers to give him more duplicity but adds in answer to a question that he had not a hope of winning. He talks with his wealthy family where an aunt encourages him to be himself and consistent.
John Goodman’s agents arrives from New York and discovers that she had been sending copies of his Internet rants to the publishers and they want him to write something contemporary as well as his novel about the 1927 Floods. He is resistant. His daughter is impressed but when she quotes obscenities from the Davis Campaign he is horrified at the influence of her piano tutor on her. However he had devised a float in the form of the Mayor maturating himself with himself , his daughter and his wife and others dressed as sperm handing out condoms.
His wife Toni is away tracking down the only other officer on duty in the district where Daymo disappeared and he mentions having given a traffic ticket to someone who could be the missing man and just when it seems another blank is drawn he mentions that because there was a warrant out for the non appearance of the man re other charges he had left him at the station. There is a copy of his report in the car which he had left just before laving the state line at a local station leaving the keys at the desk. She pretends to be from the New Orleans Police to get access to the car where she finds the copy of the action taken re Daymo. She leaves the car saying she is from document retrieve and the car will be collected in due course! On return to the city she attempts to enlist the help of the DA to obtain a write of Habeas Corpus. She explains that this is not possible because of the emergent situation. Toni is disgusted at her willingness at allowing an innocent man to languish in the system as the warrant issue had been dealt with. Earlier she had been horrified at her husband’s float and involvement of their daughter, but after the rebuff by the DA she joins in the parade. She does not know that the mother of the young man is in hospital because of breathing problems.
Albert’ son has reached Houston in his tour and is great success providing opportunity for some modern jazz. He promises to return tot he city for the parade. Albert is disgusted to find that instead of the Council representatives arranging for an empty housing project to be opened for accommodation for his crew, he is offered one FEMA trailer. He throws the representative out of the bar.
There is brief reference to Annie the violinist who when she accepts another gig on her own the boyfriend hits her high on drugs. He promises to reform and it is unclear if Anne will agree to stay or go her own way. Antoine struggles to get work and gives the new trombone to an elder Jazz musician who has become depressed and is having problems playing. He arranges for him to have a medical examination. Jeanette the restaurant owner struggles to make end meet because of the rising costs charged by her suppliers. She considers asking the staff to work for another week without pay but having got them together she realises she has to close so they can get other paid work. As she locks up phone rings but she does not answer it, suggesting it is a missed opportunity.
The Barefoot Contessa is also a balance between the reality of an ultra realist film writer and director, played by Humphrey Bogart and living in her dream a Spanish dancer, Maria Vargas played by Ava Gardiner. The film begins with Bogart a rain swept onlooker at the Funeral of an International film star who only made three films. The film comprises Bogart telling the story of the film star from when he accompanied a film tycoon and a studio publicist (Edmund O’Brien who won an Academy award as best supporting actor) on a trip from Hollywood to Spain to see the night club act of Gardiner which we do not see, but judge from the faces of the audience. The tycoon asks that she dances again and that she joins them both are refused and Bogart is sent to talk to her. She is interested but is out off by the tycoon and goes home. Bogart is told to find bring her before the plane leaves or his career in on the line. He traces her to the family home where he quickly finds she has a tempestuous relationship with her parents and leads a life within her head, searching for the ideal Prince Charming relationship as a Cinderella who likes to go about barefoot.
Bogart plays a man twice married, able to find new partners without difficulty, a writer‘s observer of people who knows from the outset he will not possess her as she needs him as a friend who will not penetrate the defence against reality she built around herself. She travels to Hollywood and becomes an International success which is reinforced by only two other films.
The studio tries to prevent Maria returning home when her father kills her mother after years of abuse. The publicist argues that any involvement with the scandal will finish her career she goes into court to speak for her father and he is acquitted and her standing enhanced.
At a Hollywood Party a notorious wealthy South American who admits his vices ( Marius Goring) makes a play for Gardiner who is tempted to go with him because the tycoon boss insists that she does not. The publicist makes a break with the tycoon after telling home truths and joined the South American
The relationship is short lived and when the South American critices Maria in public for ruining his luck gambling a stranger hits him across the faces and takes Maria away. This is Rossano Brazzi as the Count Vincenzo Torlato-Favrini.
She immediately falls in love having found the Prince Charming she has searched all her life. She meet up with Bogart who is happily married in Italy where he is filming and he is invited to meet the Count who live with his widowed sister on the family estate close to the sea. Bogart sees that she is love and warns the Count of the responsibility he is taking on. They are married, the impression is given by the Pope with Bogart giving her away.
Only a few weeks later Gardiner arrives where Bogart is staying late at night and reveals that on her wedding night she discovers that her husband lost his masculinity in the war. While he loves her he cannot function as a husband. During the time Bogart has known Gardiner in the film she has had a succession of sordid sexual relationships while unable to give herself to the men who courted her. This time she has gone a step further and set out to become pregnant so she can give her husband the heir he has longed for. Bogart is horrified with what she has done but is helpless to prevent what subsequently happens although he drives out tot he Count’s home when he realises that all her movements are being followed. He is too late as after telling the count what she has dome for him he kills her and the lover adn awaits for the police. He is allowed to attend the funeral before being taken back to prison. Among others in this film about the Hollywood glitterati are Elizabeth Sellers, Diana Decker, Bill Frazer and Valentina Cortessa.
The film is meant to be an intense psycho drama with literary pretension. Some allege that the relationship between Rita Hayworth and Prince Aly Khan inspired the film but Joseph Mankiewicz who Directed and wrote the screenplay said it was based on the actress Anne Chevalier who starred in a film in 1931 called Tabu. I was unable to verify that this was so other that she did feature in the film.
The second film watched is Red Dawn, a throw back to the days of the cold war when there was only one enemy Russia and Communism. It was released in 1984. The subject is World War III which takes places with the successful invasion of the USA but a stalemate reached with the territory divided. The situation arises because the rest of NATO except for the UK reaches a compromise with the Soviet Union allowing them to invade the USA to take command of the Wheat belt because of the failure of the Russian harvest in the Ukraine. There is also communist revolution in Mexico which provides the America platform for the invasion.
The film opens with the aerial invasion on a small town in Colorado where half a dozen High School friends manage to get away including two brothers played by the youthful Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen. They visit the general and field sports store owned by the father of one of their friends Robert and stock up with food drink, hunting riffles and ammunition, and then head for the mountains. The town is taken over and used as a base with KGB arresting and getting rid of potential rebels. Also in charge appears to be a Cuban revolutionary called Bella whose troops are also part of the occupation force. He tells the KGB to get holds of the records showing who owns firearms in the town. After surviving for several weeks the High School kids decide to make their way back to town to find out what has happened to their families. The town is being used as a re-education centre for likely dissidents where the two brothers find their father is being held .
On their way back to the nature reserve where they are hiding they visit a elderly couple who explain that they are 40 miles within occupied territory, which means they are comparatively close to what remains as free America. The couple provide them with a field radio to keep in touch with what is happening and ask them to take care of their two teenage grand daughters and protect them from the soldiers who have been raping the women.
A couple of officers and driver go on a site seeing tour and discover one of the party who are hiding close by. They are forced to kill the men to save themselves and this leads to a large number of the people in the town being executed. This turns the small band into an avenging group calling themselves the Wolverines after their school mascot. We are not shown how they are able to acquire the weaponry of guerrillas, including hand rocket launchers grenades, rapid fire guns and the skill to use the arms effectively. The retaliation continues including the execution of the brother’s father, with the father of Robert who supplied the hunting guns executed early on because of his actions. The two girls have also become active guerrillas and killers. The Cuban Major begins to question the approach being taken and their occupation of the town,
The group find a downed Free America pilot and he joins the group and becomes friendly with one of the girls. He advises that several cities were destroyed by nuclear attacks including Washington, Kansas, Omaha and Nebraska in the surprise attack because of sleepers and infiltrators from Mexico before being supported by armies from Cuba and Nicaragua and Russian special forces. Russian divisions and captured Alaska and then Canada, but a grouping forces had managed to keep the free area and since the Russians need the food production area of the USA and the USA did not want to destroy its own area they were fighting using conventional weapons hence the stalemate. With his help the group escalate their guerrilla activities with increasing success to the extent that they are regarded a meriting especial attention from the authorities who send a specialist officer to take charge and who abandons the retaliatory hostage taking and executions for a policy of hunting the group.
The success of the group without casualties cannot continue indefinitely and the pilot and one of the group die. Another member of the group goes into town on his own against explicit instructions is captured and ordered to swallow a homing device which leads an assault group to reach the guerrillas but their defence and firepower is such that they defeat the assault group and discover the tracking device and the betrayal. They kill the survivor who explains the tracking device and discovering the traitor, Swayze who is the leader, decides that they should kill him, but he finds it impossible to do this and the execution is carried out by one the girls.
Having survived this they fall into the next trap when they stop to enjoy some fresh fruit and other produce “accidentally” dropped at the roadside by a passing supply vehicles they were planning to ambush. This delay, and possibly more tracking devices result in the group being attacked by three powerful gunships one they managed to disable but the losses are heavy. There are only four left, the two brothers and one of the young men and one of the girls. These two are told to make their way to free America and tell people of the fight which group put up. The two brothers launch what they believe is going to be a last ditch battle attacking the command centre in their home town. They manage to kill the specialist brought in with the KGB man killed earlier. The younger brother, played by Sheen is mortally wounded and as he is being taken away by the older brother they are confronted with the Cuban Bella who cannot bring himself to kill them, however the conclusion of the film suggests that the older brother also died if not immediately then before the war ended.
The film then moves to the point where the fight back had commenced with the killing of the soldier at a tourist view point. Erica who has survived is there and we are shown the Plaque and Partisan Rock on which is inscribed the names of each of the group as they died. The plaque reads.. In the early days of World War III, guerrillas - mostly children placed the names of the lost upon this rock. They fought here alone and gave up their lives, so that this nation shall not perish from the earth.” I winced at this because in reality it was not about a nation as such but about issues such as talked about in that important House of Commons Debate of a week ago, in the city squares of North Africa and the Persian Gulf and at the time of writing in Trafalgar Square and Hyde Park London.
In the latest episode of the Boardwalk Empire, La Belle Femme the punch line comes early on, if we only elected good men we would have no leaders.
Margaret ‘s position as the mistress of Nucky makes her a target for those seeking his influence. She takes the naive mistress of the new President to be, Leader of the Republic Party into French boutique where she was found a position by Nucky after he had arranged for his brother to kill and frame her husband for the deaths of the bootleggers. The owner pleads with Margaret to persuade her husband to drop the increased taxes which is putting her out of business. When she puts the case for helping her former employer and comments on the behaviour of the Republican Party’s new leader, Nucky makes the comment about the character of USA politicians.
Margaret offers to help her husband and he reminds of when she spoke out at his birthday and asks her to speak for him to get the women’s vote and who are only to be enfranchised at the next elections. She agrees but says she needs to look nice and only the boutique owner knows how to dress her well. Nucky is pleased by her selfishness and reduces the taxes on the shop as a consequence. He distrust altruism. The owner of the boutique is now indebted to Margaret.
The Republican Party’s new leader’s mistress tells Margaret that she fell in love when she was sixteen and he was running the local newspaper before he went to the Senate. He says he loves her and his daughter but she must put the future of their country first.
Nucky visits his brother in hospital and says the new man running for Mayor has accused the Sheriff and himself of corruption. Everyone knows the truth but it has not been published before. On returning to his accommodation he finds that Jimmy had returned to accept his offer on condition he is helped by the War Hero he used to kill the man who scarred his whorehouse mistress in Chicago. He also insists on speaking to Nucky in private and getting him to admit he wants him to kill the D’Alessio brothers and two others that have been identified as being involved in the stealing from the Casino and the wounding of his brother.
Jimmy returns to his wife who is put out by his sudden arrival as she is in the midst of entertaining the lecherous photographer and his wife. The consequence of the arrival results in the couple dumping Angela and effectively admitting that his offer to introduce an artistic agent was a ruse to get her into bed as his wife had already been successful. Jimmy is summoned to meet see his mother where he finds her in bed with the young Lucky Luciano. Before he can take Luciano away to kill him as advised by Al Capone the Feds arrive to arrest Jimmy for the murders of the bootleggers.
Jimmy had sent a Western Union message to Nucky and to Angela saying he was coming but the messages had been held by the Fed’s deputy who then forgets to pass on the messages. This sends Van Alden, the boss into a frenzy and later in order to placate the boss, or so it seems, he suggests moving Jimmy’s accomplice on the night, the decoy driver, out of state to get him out of reach of the gangsters. However this is also a ruse and he kills the witness on their way out of state pretending to have been attacked and having to kill the man in self defence. Thus the case against Jimmy falls apart.
Earlier Nucky is called to visit Jimmy in custody and explains he will not be given bail and that the only outcome is for the witness to disappear. Jimmy is able to tell Nucky that Luciano revealed that the D’Alessio brothers are working for Rothestein of New York who earlier in the episode are taken on more permanently in order to operate a Scottish Whisky import business which is estimated to be more profitable that selling watered down alcohol. They advise that Nucky needs to be removed.
Nucky has decided the present Mayor is not up to the task and asks his friend the construction company owner to replace him, saying that there will be lots of new Construction jobs certain to come his way as a consequence. The approach is at the Casino and entertainment centre where there is a great Blues singing version of Some of these Days. The future Mayor comments 1920 it a time for the young people. Nucky comments on the wisdom of letting them think so. Meanwhile the deputy Sheriff has made a move to replace Nucky’s brother. The episode ends as out on the Boardwalk an attempt is made on the life of Nucky with Margaret getting blood on her new dress.
This brings me to recent times Mafia and the re run of the Sopranos from the first season. In the episode Down Neck Tony confronts his past after his son is caught drunk at the Catholic school after drinking the wine used for the mass. The school believes his behaviour is such that he requires psychological help and may have an attention deficit problem. Tony is resistant but because he is in treatment with a psychoanalyst it brings back issues with his parents particular his mother
When visiting the analyst he attempts to raise issues in such a way as it does not reflect on himself. The psychiatrist mentions his declaration of love and Tony retaliates by mentioning that he has a mistress but the subject of the son dominates and Tony talks about how he found out about the occupation of his father after witnessing him beating up a neighbour with his uncle Junior and others.
He is jealous that his father takes his sister with him when he visits the local amusement park. Tony discovers this after hiding in the trunk of his father’s car and sees his sister with other daughters of his father’s friends. One day after taking the bus on his own to the amusement park he sees a police raid and the arrest of his father, Uncle Junior and others and that the girls are then told to make their way home.
He explains to the psychiatrist that his father, Junior and the others used the girls as a cover for their business meetings and activities. The police had arrested his father and the others believing they were involved in some crime but this was so, in the particular instance. His father had been picked up for the parole violation of association with other known criminals. His father had been to prison although at the time Tony was told his father was away earning money as a cowboy. His mother had been a shrew towards her husband saying at one point he would rather smother her children than let him take them with him when she ridiculed his proposals to accept the offer to move to Nevada and run a supper club for a criminal associate. This man had become a billionaire and added to the resentment Tony felt about his mother who at once had threatened to physically abuse him.
This leads to a discussion about heredity. Tony states he was proud of his father as he hopes his son is of him, but he does not want the boy to follow in his footsteps. For once the Psychoanalyst gives an opinion that even where because of heredity someone has a propensity it does not mean they do not have free choice, especially in America.
At a dinner party attended by his mother she reveals that Tony was a problem child stealing and driving a car when he was too young to control it. Tony son’s AJ is impressed and wants to know more but Tony wants his past buried so that it does not influence the future of the boy. His wife believes that after the college admission’s trip which where Tony accompanied his daughter she seems to have changed as if she knows about his life as a Mafia Captain. They debate when their son should be told. After the son has been tested the couple meet again with the school psychologist and he reveals that their son is not educationally sub normal and is quite bright nor does he have any physical problems and that in relation to the attention syndrome while he does have five of the nine indicators you need six to be classified as such. This reassure the parents and they express the hope that they do not have to pay for what they regard as a waste of time.
Back home Tony finds his son depressed about being grounded, not having TV or playing electronic games. Tony is feeling good about himself again and his son and makes to huge helpings of ice cream and cream with toppings and the two have a great father son moment together.
Part of the reason for Tony’s good humour is that on visiting his mother she tells him that she is fed up with Junior because he is full of himself since becoming the Captain of the Captains. During the visit from Junior she drops hints that she knows her son is having mental problems. Tony mentions the success of the man who wanted to give his father a job and she presents a new version which puts herself in a good light and her husband as someone who always went his own way. Tony confronts her with the truth and aspects of the way she treated him. He proclaims that had women’s lib been around then she would have been ruthless criminal boss and not her husband.
Making light of Criminal activity Weeds continues to be the most outrageous programme on either side of the Atlantic. The heroine has commenced to establish a relationship with the political Mafia Spanish American controlling the underground transfer of drugs via the tunnel. Various events prevent them getting together again but at the end of the second recent episode there is a touching scene of his visit to her home and the two sitting cuddling on the veranda with a romantic lamp on the veranda window with outside two armed security men stand in watch.
Meanwhile her best friend is using heroine again and starts demanding cash from purchasers at the store offering great discounts if they do, in order to buy more stuff. When she goes to the dealers working with our heroine they take her prisoners preventing her from talking by using a bra, presumable her bra as a gag. Our Heroine bribes them to let the woman go and insists she is clean. Later her daughter finds her with a syringe attached to her forehead and thinks she is on drugs again but this time she is attempting to redden and full out her lips. The eldest son has struck up a relationship with a woman old enough to be his mother and says he will move out and with her as soon as he is eighteen. He has started a small Weed growing plant and sales business in the back room. Our heroine visits and gives them advice how to evade the law, but her concern is that she is losing her son and at one point when he returns asks if he has any laundry, saying he can raid the fridge or play his music as loud as he wishes. The young son is found to have a photo of her when she was a porn star and this leads to an embarrassing speech on her part but also for him about how he should enjoy sex but not have fantasies about his mother. Later at school he finds his reputation has suddenly shot up and two of the most attractive girls reveal that they have put his name across their tums and ask him if he like to party, which he says he does. The cousin who travelled with the family south has now established himself as a hero among the migrants he helped to free from the gang exploiting them. Only his friend is unhappy unable to trace the attractive young women they encountered coming out of the sea on to the beach. However the barman believes he can find the girl. At one level rather like Treme the series is poking fun at double standards although unlike Treme there are no redeeming moral features about this programme.
The week opened with the two part Waking the Dead a chilling two part portrayal of life in residential care and how the road to hell is often paved with good intentions. A girl, who aged seven years had disappeared from a privately run care home, reappears burned to death in a car.
The Cold Case team led by the excellent Trevor Eve and supported by Sue Johnston in Care discovered that the privately run home far from protecting and caring for children exploited and looked away from the brutality that went on between the children. In this instance a violent disturbed and out of control young boy who had been horribly treated himself for the first five years of his life. He had terrorised the other children and had disappeared from the system as a teenager. However the manager of the establishment had organised the teenage girls into a prostitution ring which earned substantial funds on away days at seaside resorts. The police were paid off by being given a share of the money. Records revealed that a social worker at the establishment had complained about the situation in the home but her claims had been ignored and then covered up. It was found that she and her husband had both died in circumstances where their bodies had not been found.
Rather than attempt to recreate the drama which emerged during the two one hour parts of the story I will explain what happened as the story unfolded to its conclusion. Together with her husband the social worker decided to rescue the seven year old girl, another girl and two boys from the home, and this included the violent boy who had terrorised the other children burning “eye” into their skin. This included the boy who became the current head of the home and who had attempted to disguise the eyes with self inflicted further disfigurement. He was less than honest about his knowledge of the situation because as a boy he had been responsible for taking the money earned by the girls from their prostitution. He had stood by when the seven year old was taken by the couple because he believed she would be better off that her fate if she stayed in the home although his action is now haunted given the way she come to die.
When the Cold Case team contact the mother of the dead girl, a former prostitute and present, drug taker and alcoholic she says something with surprises that she had heard from her daughter that she was happy and later the latest addition to the team(seconded from special services because of something that happened but which has not been disclosed) breaks into the home and discovers the fragments of a burnt letter. The mother was in hospital having attacked a man who was the driver of the girls on their prostitution trips and he had retaliated. She too is now tormented by what happened to her daughter. However we are to learn that responsibility for the way of life of the girl and her death rests with those who kidnapped her.
We also learn that on the night when the girl the violent and disturbed boy was being transferred by the social worker to the remand centre/detention centre the man was then head of the establishment had been knocked down in the vehicle being driven by the woman’s husband. The boy had jumped out of the vehicle and stabbed out the eyes of the head of the home.
We learn that the children taken from the home did live a happy life with the couple who rescued them, taking account that the children were being criminally abuse by the authorities with police connivance. The family in an isolated rural property with a tree house, a property which the Cold Case discover when attempting to trace what happened to the former social worker and her husband who they still believe had died. The only blight on their childhood had been the appearance of a mythical devil figure the equivalent of the bogey man, in this instance wearing a cloth over his head with slits for the eyes. This was used to help them to stick together and not disclose their former lives.
Everything had continued well for a decade until the recently killed girl and former terrorist boy become teenagers and fall in love. This again might have worked well had it not been for the disability of the foster father and the foster mother having commenced sexual relations with the former terrorist boy. The kidnapped girl returns unexpectedly bad catches her boyfriend with the foster mother and she runs off, into high class prostitution, alcohol and drug addict, at one level the life of her mother and the other girls in the child care home
It was only shortly before her death that the girl had attended a private clinic and encountered the doctor there to find that she was her foster sister from the family home. The girl had wanted back in to the family and then discovered that there had been a child from the relationship between the former terrorist and lover and the foster mother. As part of trying to get herself back into the family she had then befriended the girl and then kidnapped her . She had then gone to a meeting with the foster sister, now doctor and the her former lover and he had snapped, killed the girl, burning the body in her car. He had then turned on the foster sister and triggering her previous fear and earlier breakdown she falls over the balcony of her flat to her death, perhaps she was pushed by teh appearance of the foster brother now back to his disturbed and murderous self.
The daughter is traumatised by her experience and that she has also seen the character with head covered in cloth with only two eye slits. While imprisoned in the wardrobe. It is only as the finale approaches that the team realise that the mother of this girl is the believed dead social worker and that the other children are the former children from the home including the former young terrorist!
There is then a series of new horrors. Discovering what has happened the foster father persuades his official daughter and child born to his former social worker wife to go with him to a lock up where he gives her a passport and money to get away abroad if for any reason he is prevented from taking her. The girl fearful of the situation contacts one of the men she regards as older brothers. The former young terrorist has discovered that his father knows it was he who killed and burned the foster sister and then the older foster sister. He tells his “daughter” to wait in the vehicle and returns saying the foster father will join them later, however he has not only killed the man but also gouged out his eyes. The father takes the daughter back to the former family home with the now dilapidated tree house.
Meanwhile Trevor and Sue have been playing bad and good cop with the former social worker and the other foster son and eventually they persuade the mother to reveal the location of the former family home. Sue had explained that although the boy have become a loving brother and good citizen, the stress of recent events had resurrected his past experiences as a child and as a boy. Cornered he attempts to use his daughter as a hostage but filled with competing feelings he lets her go and kills himself. The girl is left, with her natural father dead, the man she knew as father dead, her mother carted off to prison as mostly likely her elder foster brother. A heavy dose of reality this latest double episode.
There was also lots of reality intermingled with great Jazz in the latest episode of Treme, the series about life in New Orleans after the failure of the flooding defences following Cyclone Katrina. Life is lived to full by everyone.
John Goodman as the write, English Professor has produced another You Tube outburst full of expletives which has brought him fame in town, with one man of society who he and his wife meet at a restaurant saying his outbursts of expletives have a poetic quality as well as speaking up for the city. However he continues not to work on his novel and he is summoned to see his agent which he fears means the publishers will be wanting their advance back because of the failure to produce as new work after six years and he had sent the money.
Antione discovers the trombone taken from him by the police in a pawn shop and when Goodman’s wife Toni, gets to see the local police chief to complain he admits that half the force abandoned their posts at the time Katrina, others had left or were disciplined because of what then happened and the situation is not getting better. He uses police funds to settle the pawn ticket. Meanwhile Antoine already has a brand new Trombone provided by an admirer of his work and of New Orleans Jazz who has travelled from Japan, Both Antoine and Goodman are getting ready for the Krewe du Vieux Carnival.
I had to look this up and found that
“ The Krewe du Vieux is a New Orleans Mardi Gras or Carnival krewe, originally and more fully known as the Krewe du Vieux Carré. The parade begins in the Marigny and slowly meanders its way through the Vieux Carre ("Vieux Carre" being another term for the city's French Quarter). It is one of the earliest parades of the New Orleans Carnival calendar, and is noted for wild satirical and adult themes, as well as for showcasing a large number of New Orleans' best marching bands.
The Krewe du Vieux was established in 1987. It is actually an amalgamation of several smaller semi-independent krewes (or sub-krewes) that pool their resources together for parade permits and other expenses and obligations. Several of the sub-krewes predate the Krewe du Vieux, originating as walking clubs or as sub-krewes of the defunct Krewe of Clones in the 1970s and early 1980s.
The Krewe du Vieux is perhaps simultaneously the most individualistic and the most traditional of all New Orleans parading krewes. It has no large tractor pulled floats like the larger krewes, using only old style small human or mule drawn floats interspersed with marchers on foot. It has no recorded music blaring from boom box trucks, for the Krewe du Vieux uses music only from live bands. The floats are hand made and decorated by members of the respective sub-krewes, often with themes satirizing local politics and customs, sometimes of a bawdy nature — in such aspects arguably closer to early 19th century Carnival traditions than any other Krewe currently parading. The Krewe du Vieux is the only Krewe still allowed to parade through the French Quarter (other than some small walking Krewes on Mardi Gras Day); krewes with larger floats have been prohibited in the narrow streets of the old town since the 1970s.
The Krewe honours as its monarch each year a New Orleanian particularly notable as a representative of the local culture. Various local musicians, artists, writers, and colourful characters have reigned as King or Queen, including Danny Barker, Andrei Codrescu, Ernie K-Doe, Irma Thomas, Ronnie Virgets, and Dr. John. In 2006, less than six months after Hurricane Katrina made landfall, Krewe du Vieux was the first Mardi Gras parade to roll through the streets of New Orleans. The theme that year was "C'est Levee".In 2011, Krewe du Vieux celebrated their silver anniversary under the banner "25 Years Wasted". Don Marshall, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Foundation Executive Director ruled as King. The parade was blessed with beautiful weather and huge crowds.” So now we all know.
Also involved in the festivities and political reactions to the disaster Davis enlists an all start band and singers to make a special recording of Shame Shame Shame with revised Lyrics and which is played in full during the programme. Shame Shame Shame is a great number and the combination of the first class musicians and singers and the new lyrics is fantastic. Having encountered the neighbours he was harassing by playing loud music with open window and amplifiers he has relented.
The young female violinist is fed up with the lack of privacy arising from the arrival of the friend of boyfriend from his aborted taking to the road. She discovers has bought drugs while on the trip but what fuels her to insisting the friend leaves after their experience at the Krewe du Vieux.
Meanwhile the girl friend of Davis the Restaurant owner Jeanette is cheered up when four other chefs call for a meal unannounced and she pulls out all the stops and they are appreciative of her efforts. Meanwhile Toni, Goodman’s wife, has continued her search for Daymo and sees a reference to the name of the street of Jeanette’s restaurant in the badly flood damaged probation records. She then discovers that he had been successfully working at the restaurant and on the day of the disaster Jeanette had sent him back to get the meat and distribute and she had not seen him since and the meat had gone bad and had to be thrown away.
Albert wants to use some unoccupied Housing Association property to accommodate people coming back for the Krewe du Vieux and pressed a city councillor to do something but is refused because it is not something the city has responsibility for. This brings to the Carnival which gets off to a great start but then someone lets off a gun, there are people wounded possible killed. This emphases that while everyone is trying hard to get back to normal and rebuild the community the drug dealers and other criminals are also back. Shame Shame Shame.
The next episode of Treme begins with Davis campaigning to become a local councillor making wild promises and selling copies of his protest song Shame Shame Shame. I also realise that the carnival parade of the last episode was not the famous Krewe du Vieux which is still ahead. Davis then appears on a local TV station with other candidates and one of his commitments is to hold a bribery day month when the local corrupt politicians and official cab be honest about their activities without fear of prosecution! The producer is impressed with his attitude and offers to give him more duplicity but adds in answer to a question that he had not a hope of winning. He talks with his wealthy family where an aunt encourages him to be himself and consistent.
John Goodman’s agents arrives from New York and discovers that she had been sending copies of his Internet rants to the publishers and they want him to write something contemporary as well as his novel about the 1927 Floods. He is resistant. His daughter is impressed but when she quotes obscenities from the Davis Campaign he is horrified at the influence of her piano tutor on her. However he had devised a float in the form of the Mayor maturating himself with himself , his daughter and his wife and others dressed as sperm handing out condoms.
His wife Toni is away tracking down the only other officer on duty in the district where Daymo disappeared and he mentions having given a traffic ticket to someone who could be the missing man and just when it seems another blank is drawn he mentions that because there was a warrant out for the non appearance of the man re other charges he had left him at the station. There is a copy of his report in the car which he had left just before laving the state line at a local station leaving the keys at the desk. She pretends to be from the New Orleans Police to get access to the car where she finds the copy of the action taken re Daymo. She leaves the car saying she is from document retrieve and the car will be collected in due course! On return to the city she attempts to enlist the help of the DA to obtain a write of Habeas Corpus. She explains that this is not possible because of the emergent situation. Toni is disgusted at her willingness at allowing an innocent man to languish in the system as the warrant issue had been dealt with. Earlier she had been horrified at her husband’s float and involvement of their daughter, but after the rebuff by the DA she joins in the parade. She does not know that the mother of the young man is in hospital because of breathing problems.
Albert’ son has reached Houston in his tour and is great success providing opportunity for some modern jazz. He promises to return tot he city for the parade. Albert is disgusted to find that instead of the Council representatives arranging for an empty housing project to be opened for accommodation for his crew, he is offered one FEMA trailer. He throws the representative out of the bar.
There is brief reference to Annie the violinist who when she accepts another gig on her own the boyfriend hits her high on drugs. He promises to reform and it is unclear if Anne will agree to stay or go her own way. Antoine struggles to get work and gives the new trombone to an elder Jazz musician who has become depressed and is having problems playing. He arranges for him to have a medical examination. Jeanette the restaurant owner struggles to make end meet because of the rising costs charged by her suppliers. She considers asking the staff to work for another week without pay but having got them together she realises she has to close so they can get other paid work. As she locks up phone rings but she does not answer it, suggesting it is a missed opportunity.
The Barefoot Contessa is also a balance between the reality of an ultra realist film writer and director, played by Humphrey Bogart and living in her dream a Spanish dancer, Maria Vargas played by Ava Gardiner. The film begins with Bogart a rain swept onlooker at the Funeral of an International film star who only made three films. The film comprises Bogart telling the story of the film star from when he accompanied a film tycoon and a studio publicist (Edmund O’Brien who won an Academy award as best supporting actor) on a trip from Hollywood to Spain to see the night club act of Gardiner which we do not see, but judge from the faces of the audience. The tycoon asks that she dances again and that she joins them both are refused and Bogart is sent to talk to her. She is interested but is out off by the tycoon and goes home. Bogart is told to find bring her before the plane leaves or his career in on the line. He traces her to the family home where he quickly finds she has a tempestuous relationship with her parents and leads a life within her head, searching for the ideal Prince Charming relationship as a Cinderella who likes to go about barefoot.
Bogart plays a man twice married, able to find new partners without difficulty, a writer‘s observer of people who knows from the outset he will not possess her as she needs him as a friend who will not penetrate the defence against reality she built around herself. She travels to Hollywood and becomes an International success which is reinforced by only two other films.
The studio tries to prevent Maria returning home when her father kills her mother after years of abuse. The publicist argues that any involvement with the scandal will finish her career she goes into court to speak for her father and he is acquitted and her standing enhanced.
At a Hollywood Party a notorious wealthy South American who admits his vices ( Marius Goring) makes a play for Gardiner who is tempted to go with him because the tycoon boss insists that she does not. The publicist makes a break with the tycoon after telling home truths and joined the South American
The relationship is short lived and when the South American critices Maria in public for ruining his luck gambling a stranger hits him across the faces and takes Maria away. This is Rossano Brazzi as the Count Vincenzo Torlato-Favrini.
She immediately falls in love having found the Prince Charming she has searched all her life. She meet up with Bogart who is happily married in Italy where he is filming and he is invited to meet the Count who live with his widowed sister on the family estate close to the sea. Bogart sees that she is love and warns the Count of the responsibility he is taking on. They are married, the impression is given by the Pope with Bogart giving her away.
Only a few weeks later Gardiner arrives where Bogart is staying late at night and reveals that on her wedding night she discovers that her husband lost his masculinity in the war. While he loves her he cannot function as a husband. During the time Bogart has known Gardiner in the film she has had a succession of sordid sexual relationships while unable to give herself to the men who courted her. This time she has gone a step further and set out to become pregnant so she can give her husband the heir he has longed for. Bogart is horrified with what she has done but is helpless to prevent what subsequently happens although he drives out tot he Count’s home when he realises that all her movements are being followed. He is too late as after telling the count what she has dome for him he kills her and the lover adn awaits for the police. He is allowed to attend the funeral before being taken back to prison. Among others in this film about the Hollywood glitterati are Elizabeth Sellers, Diana Decker, Bill Frazer and Valentina Cortessa.
The film is meant to be an intense psycho drama with literary pretension. Some allege that the relationship between Rita Hayworth and Prince Aly Khan inspired the film but Joseph Mankiewicz who Directed and wrote the screenplay said it was based on the actress Anne Chevalier who starred in a film in 1931 called Tabu. I was unable to verify that this was so other that she did feature in the film.
The second film watched is Red Dawn, a throw back to the days of the cold war when there was only one enemy Russia and Communism. It was released in 1984. The subject is World War III which takes places with the successful invasion of the USA but a stalemate reached with the territory divided. The situation arises because the rest of NATO except for the UK reaches a compromise with the Soviet Union allowing them to invade the USA to take command of the Wheat belt because of the failure of the Russian harvest in the Ukraine. There is also communist revolution in Mexico which provides the America platform for the invasion.
The film opens with the aerial invasion on a small town in Colorado where half a dozen High School friends manage to get away including two brothers played by the youthful Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen. They visit the general and field sports store owned by the father of one of their friends Robert and stock up with food drink, hunting riffles and ammunition, and then head for the mountains. The town is taken over and used as a base with KGB arresting and getting rid of potential rebels. Also in charge appears to be a Cuban revolutionary called Bella whose troops are also part of the occupation force. He tells the KGB to get holds of the records showing who owns firearms in the town. After surviving for several weeks the High School kids decide to make their way back to town to find out what has happened to their families. The town is being used as a re-education centre for likely dissidents where the two brothers find their father is being held .
On their way back to the nature reserve where they are hiding they visit a elderly couple who explain that they are 40 miles within occupied territory, which means they are comparatively close to what remains as free America. The couple provide them with a field radio to keep in touch with what is happening and ask them to take care of their two teenage grand daughters and protect them from the soldiers who have been raping the women.
A couple of officers and driver go on a site seeing tour and discover one of the party who are hiding close by. They are forced to kill the men to save themselves and this leads to a large number of the people in the town being executed. This turns the small band into an avenging group calling themselves the Wolverines after their school mascot. We are not shown how they are able to acquire the weaponry of guerrillas, including hand rocket launchers grenades, rapid fire guns and the skill to use the arms effectively. The retaliation continues including the execution of the brother’s father, with the father of Robert who supplied the hunting guns executed early on because of his actions. The two girls have also become active guerrillas and killers. The Cuban Major begins to question the approach being taken and their occupation of the town,
The group find a downed Free America pilot and he joins the group and becomes friendly with one of the girls. He advises that several cities were destroyed by nuclear attacks including Washington, Kansas, Omaha and Nebraska in the surprise attack because of sleepers and infiltrators from Mexico before being supported by armies from Cuba and Nicaragua and Russian special forces. Russian divisions and captured Alaska and then Canada, but a grouping forces had managed to keep the free area and since the Russians need the food production area of the USA and the USA did not want to destroy its own area they were fighting using conventional weapons hence the stalemate. With his help the group escalate their guerrilla activities with increasing success to the extent that they are regarded a meriting especial attention from the authorities who send a specialist officer to take charge and who abandons the retaliatory hostage taking and executions for a policy of hunting the group.
The success of the group without casualties cannot continue indefinitely and the pilot and one of the group die. Another member of the group goes into town on his own against explicit instructions is captured and ordered to swallow a homing device which leads an assault group to reach the guerrillas but their defence and firepower is such that they defeat the assault group and discover the tracking device and the betrayal. They kill the survivor who explains the tracking device and discovering the traitor, Swayze who is the leader, decides that they should kill him, but he finds it impossible to do this and the execution is carried out by one the girls.
Having survived this they fall into the next trap when they stop to enjoy some fresh fruit and other produce “accidentally” dropped at the roadside by a passing supply vehicles they were planning to ambush. This delay, and possibly more tracking devices result in the group being attacked by three powerful gunships one they managed to disable but the losses are heavy. There are only four left, the two brothers and one of the young men and one of the girls. These two are told to make their way to free America and tell people of the fight which group put up. The two brothers launch what they believe is going to be a last ditch battle attacking the command centre in their home town. They manage to kill the specialist brought in with the KGB man killed earlier. The younger brother, played by Sheen is mortally wounded and as he is being taken away by the older brother they are confronted with the Cuban Bella who cannot bring himself to kill them, however the conclusion of the film suggests that the older brother also died if not immediately then before the war ended.
The film then moves to the point where the fight back had commenced with the killing of the soldier at a tourist view point. Erica who has survived is there and we are shown the Plaque and Partisan Rock on which is inscribed the names of each of the group as they died. The plaque reads.. In the early days of World War III, guerrillas - mostly children placed the names of the lost upon this rock. They fought here alone and gave up their lives, so that this nation shall not perish from the earth.” I winced at this because in reality it was not about a nation as such but about issues such as talked about in that important House of Commons Debate of a week ago, in the city squares of North Africa and the Persian Gulf and at the time of writing in Trafalgar Square and Hyde Park London.
In the latest episode of the Boardwalk Empire, La Belle Femme the punch line comes early on, if we only elected good men we would have no leaders.
Margaret ‘s position as the mistress of Nucky makes her a target for those seeking his influence. She takes the naive mistress of the new President to be, Leader of the Republic Party into French boutique where she was found a position by Nucky after he had arranged for his brother to kill and frame her husband for the deaths of the bootleggers. The owner pleads with Margaret to persuade her husband to drop the increased taxes which is putting her out of business. When she puts the case for helping her former employer and comments on the behaviour of the Republican Party’s new leader, Nucky makes the comment about the character of USA politicians.
Margaret offers to help her husband and he reminds of when she spoke out at his birthday and asks her to speak for him to get the women’s vote and who are only to be enfranchised at the next elections. She agrees but says she needs to look nice and only the boutique owner knows how to dress her well. Nucky is pleased by her selfishness and reduces the taxes on the shop as a consequence. He distrust altruism. The owner of the boutique is now indebted to Margaret.
The Republican Party’s new leader’s mistress tells Margaret that she fell in love when she was sixteen and he was running the local newspaper before he went to the Senate. He says he loves her and his daughter but she must put the future of their country first.
Nucky visits his brother in hospital and says the new man running for Mayor has accused the Sheriff and himself of corruption. Everyone knows the truth but it has not been published before. On returning to his accommodation he finds that Jimmy had returned to accept his offer on condition he is helped by the War Hero he used to kill the man who scarred his whorehouse mistress in Chicago. He also insists on speaking to Nucky in private and getting him to admit he wants him to kill the D’Alessio brothers and two others that have been identified as being involved in the stealing from the Casino and the wounding of his brother.
Jimmy returns to his wife who is put out by his sudden arrival as she is in the midst of entertaining the lecherous photographer and his wife. The consequence of the arrival results in the couple dumping Angela and effectively admitting that his offer to introduce an artistic agent was a ruse to get her into bed as his wife had already been successful. Jimmy is summoned to meet see his mother where he finds her in bed with the young Lucky Luciano. Before he can take Luciano away to kill him as advised by Al Capone the Feds arrive to arrest Jimmy for the murders of the bootleggers.
Jimmy had sent a Western Union message to Nucky and to Angela saying he was coming but the messages had been held by the Fed’s deputy who then forgets to pass on the messages. This sends Van Alden, the boss into a frenzy and later in order to placate the boss, or so it seems, he suggests moving Jimmy’s accomplice on the night, the decoy driver, out of state to get him out of reach of the gangsters. However this is also a ruse and he kills the witness on their way out of state pretending to have been attacked and having to kill the man in self defence. Thus the case against Jimmy falls apart.
Earlier Nucky is called to visit Jimmy in custody and explains he will not be given bail and that the only outcome is for the witness to disappear. Jimmy is able to tell Nucky that Luciano revealed that the D’Alessio brothers are working for Rothestein of New York who earlier in the episode are taken on more permanently in order to operate a Scottish Whisky import business which is estimated to be more profitable that selling watered down alcohol. They advise that Nucky needs to be removed.
Nucky has decided the present Mayor is not up to the task and asks his friend the construction company owner to replace him, saying that there will be lots of new Construction jobs certain to come his way as a consequence. The approach is at the Casino and entertainment centre where there is a great Blues singing version of Some of these Days. The future Mayor comments 1920 it a time for the young people. Nucky comments on the wisdom of letting them think so. Meanwhile the deputy Sheriff has made a move to replace Nucky’s brother. The episode ends as out on the Boardwalk an attempt is made on the life of Nucky with Margaret getting blood on her new dress.
This brings me to recent times Mafia and the re run of the Sopranos from the first season. In the episode Down Neck Tony confronts his past after his son is caught drunk at the Catholic school after drinking the wine used for the mass. The school believes his behaviour is such that he requires psychological help and may have an attention deficit problem. Tony is resistant but because he is in treatment with a psychoanalyst it brings back issues with his parents particular his mother
When visiting the analyst he attempts to raise issues in such a way as it does not reflect on himself. The psychiatrist mentions his declaration of love and Tony retaliates by mentioning that he has a mistress but the subject of the son dominates and Tony talks about how he found out about the occupation of his father after witnessing him beating up a neighbour with his uncle Junior and others.
He is jealous that his father takes his sister with him when he visits the local amusement park. Tony discovers this after hiding in the trunk of his father’s car and sees his sister with other daughters of his father’s friends. One day after taking the bus on his own to the amusement park he sees a police raid and the arrest of his father, Uncle Junior and others and that the girls are then told to make their way home.
He explains to the psychiatrist that his father, Junior and the others used the girls as a cover for their business meetings and activities. The police had arrested his father and the others believing they were involved in some crime but this was so, in the particular instance. His father had been picked up for the parole violation of association with other known criminals. His father had been to prison although at the time Tony was told his father was away earning money as a cowboy. His mother had been a shrew towards her husband saying at one point he would rather smother her children than let him take them with him when she ridiculed his proposals to accept the offer to move to Nevada and run a supper club for a criminal associate. This man had become a billionaire and added to the resentment Tony felt about his mother who at once had threatened to physically abuse him.
This leads to a discussion about heredity. Tony states he was proud of his father as he hopes his son is of him, but he does not want the boy to follow in his footsteps. For once the Psychoanalyst gives an opinion that even where because of heredity someone has a propensity it does not mean they do not have free choice, especially in America.
At a dinner party attended by his mother she reveals that Tony was a problem child stealing and driving a car when he was too young to control it. Tony son’s AJ is impressed and wants to know more but Tony wants his past buried so that it does not influence the future of the boy. His wife believes that after the college admission’s trip which where Tony accompanied his daughter she seems to have changed as if she knows about his life as a Mafia Captain. They debate when their son should be told. After the son has been tested the couple meet again with the school psychologist and he reveals that their son is not educationally sub normal and is quite bright nor does he have any physical problems and that in relation to the attention syndrome while he does have five of the nine indicators you need six to be classified as such. This reassure the parents and they express the hope that they do not have to pay for what they regard as a waste of time.
Back home Tony finds his son depressed about being grounded, not having TV or playing electronic games. Tony is feeling good about himself again and his son and makes to huge helpings of ice cream and cream with toppings and the two have a great father son moment together.
Part of the reason for Tony’s good humour is that on visiting his mother she tells him that she is fed up with Junior because he is full of himself since becoming the Captain of the Captains. During the visit from Junior she drops hints that she knows her son is having mental problems. Tony mentions the success of the man who wanted to give his father a job and she presents a new version which puts herself in a good light and her husband as someone who always went his own way. Tony confronts her with the truth and aspects of the way she treated him. He proclaims that had women’s lib been around then she would have been ruthless criminal boss and not her husband.
Making light of Criminal activity Weeds continues to be the most outrageous programme on either side of the Atlantic. The heroine has commenced to establish a relationship with the political Mafia Spanish American controlling the underground transfer of drugs via the tunnel. Various events prevent them getting together again but at the end of the second recent episode there is a touching scene of his visit to her home and the two sitting cuddling on the veranda with a romantic lamp on the veranda window with outside two armed security men stand in watch.
Meanwhile her best friend is using heroine again and starts demanding cash from purchasers at the store offering great discounts if they do, in order to buy more stuff. When she goes to the dealers working with our heroine they take her prisoners preventing her from talking by using a bra, presumable her bra as a gag. Our Heroine bribes them to let the woman go and insists she is clean. Later her daughter finds her with a syringe attached to her forehead and thinks she is on drugs again but this time she is attempting to redden and full out her lips. The eldest son has struck up a relationship with a woman old enough to be his mother and says he will move out and with her as soon as he is eighteen. He has started a small Weed growing plant and sales business in the back room. Our heroine visits and gives them advice how to evade the law, but her concern is that she is losing her son and at one point when he returns asks if he has any laundry, saying he can raid the fridge or play his music as loud as he wishes. The young son is found to have a photo of her when she was a porn star and this leads to an embarrassing speech on her part but also for him about how he should enjoy sex but not have fantasies about his mother. Later at school he finds his reputation has suddenly shot up and two of the most attractive girls reveal that they have put his name across their tums and ask him if he like to party, which he says he does. The cousin who travelled with the family south has now established himself as a hero among the migrants he helped to free from the gang exploiting them. Only his friend is unhappy unable to trace the attractive young women they encountered coming out of the sea on to the beach. However the barman believes he can find the girl. At one level rather like Treme the series is poking fun at double standards although unlike Treme there are no redeeming moral features about this programme.
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