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‘FRIENDS: THE REUNION’ ON HBO MAX
Running on NBC for 10 seasons and a total of 236 episodes, “Friends” gained acclaim as a sitcom about the lives of six close friends in their 20s and 30s living and working in Manhattan.
On HBO Max, the six primary cast members return after seventeen years for “Friends: The Reunion” for a real-life celebration of the beloved series and are joined by show creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman.
The series starred Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer.
According to the credits, the reunion marks only the second time all of them have been together in one room since the series finale.
Moderated by late night talk show host James Corden (who incidentally really adds nothing of interest to the show by his lack of insightful questions), “Friends: The Reunion” is a nostalgia trip for the cast members.
In some respects, the reunion seems more like a nice payday for the primary cast members and those involved in the production rather than delivering incisive revelations.
But then, it’s great to see the sets on Stage 24 recreated in all their glory with the apartments and Central Perk.
While the show creators dropped a few notable morsels about casting, one of the best disclosures was how Aniston and Perry were committed to other shows that flopped so promptly as to free them up for “Friends.”
The special cuts back and forth, often with jarring effect, from vintage clips to celebrity cameos (Tom Selleck notably for his role in the May-December romance with Cox’s Monica) to an array of spontaneous recollections from the cast.
Probably most revealing of all was Perry’s remembering that he felt like he was going to die if the audience didn’t laugh, noting that he would “sweat and just go into convulsions” if there was no laughter.
More casual television viewers may not be drawn to this reminiscence of the popular series. Devoted fans who connected with “Friends” will find delight in the show clips, bloopers and cameo appearances of characters from Maggie Wheeler’s Janice to James Michael Taylor’s Gunther.
As a demonstration of “Friends” global reach, one of the more interesting aspects of “The Reunion” had to do with earnest testimonials of avid fans from countries ranging from France to Ghana to Slovakia and elsewhere.
“Friends: The Reunion,” though it may shed not enough insights on happenings behind the scenes, is obviously geared to the passionate fan base that probably realizes a similar gathering won’t happen again any time soon.
OVATION TV PREVIEW
Ovation TV, America’s only arts network, is planning a summer of “Secrets & Crimes” with film and drama series pairings every Monday night. Episodes of “Street Legal,” “The Brokenwood Mysteries” and “Mystery Road” are part of the programming block.
The episodes are planned to air following a range of widely known films, such as “The Usual Suspects,” “The Bank Job,” “The Thomas Crown Affair” (hopefully the Steve McQueen original), “Fargo,” and “Pulp Fiction,” to name a few.
A character-driven legal drama that follows the professional and private lives of a group of ambitious lawyers at a start-up firm in Toronto, “Street Legal” stars Cynthia Dale as Olivia Novak, now a named partner, who is deep into a massive class-action lawsuit.
Three tenacious young lawyers at a rival firm challenge Olivia and her usual methods. Cara Ricketts, Steve Lund and Yvonne Chapman have blind-sided Olivia by stealing her case right out from under her.
Crime apparently runs rampant in a small rural New Zealand town in “The Brokenwood Mysteries” series. Neill Rea’s Detective Inspector Mike Shepherd and partner Kristin Sims (Fern Sutherland) investigate the mystifying and macabre crimes that hit the town.
The first episode takes Shepherd on an investigation of the death of a local farmer found in a river, where he uncovers a family’s tragedies and secrets, and learns that Brokenwood is a place where shadows lurk just beneath the surface.
The Australian outback is the setting for the six-episode “Mystery Road” series. At the remote town of Patterson, Detective Jay Swan (Aaron Pederson) arrives to investigate a mysterious disappearance from a cattle station, thinking he’s got an easy three-day job.
But it soon becomes clear this is not a simple case. Jay now has to work with smart, tough local cop Emma James (Judy Davis). Born to a wealthy pastoral family and proud of her pioneering history, Emma’s life is embedded in the town, but she harbors her own secrets.
For a crime series, the “Mystery Road” has the feel of a soap opera, as the investigation uncovers a past injustice that threatens the fabric of the whole community. There’s also the tension that arises even between Jay and Emma trying hard to put their differences aside.
Both “Street Legal” and “The Brokenwood Mysteries” debut in June, with the former on Tuesday, June 8, and the latter on Tuesday, June 29.
“Mystery Road” arrives late in the summer on Tuesday, Aug. 24.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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- Written by: Tim Riley
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — Now on view at The Middletown Art Center, “Apart & Connected” is an exhibition showcasing artwork in a wide array of media, from paintings in oil, wax, and acrylic on canvas, to sculpted clay vessels with various functions.
Works in the collection reflect common themes: feelings of change, isolation, new directions, and human connection.
The gallery space is energized by bright monumental paintings harmonizing with felted forms alongside the ceramic sculptures, whose heavy-weight and purposeful-shape give feelings of grounding and stability.
Be sure to catch the exhibit by June 20 when it closes.
Ceramic work on exhibit in “Apart & Connected” range in function, size, surface, and intention. The common thread is the material and the flame.
“Our materials are from the earth,” said Jacque Adams, current resident at Cobb Mountain Art & Ecology Project, or CMAEP. “Clay and wood are the bare essentials that create vast results in the firing.”
Multiple ceramic artists participating in the exhibit are associated with CMAEP, founded by Scott Parady.
The project hosts an artists-in-residence program that provides opportunities for cooperative moments amongst artists.
Practicing and professional ceramicists come from around the country, working alongside Parady to care for the land, create new projects and utilize the ample studio space and kilns. To learn more about Cobb Mountain Art & Ecology Project visit www.cobbartandecology.org.
Biannually, CMAEP artists join together as a team to fire a 250-cubic foot Anagama kiln for a total of 12 days using a mixture of hard and soft-wood sourced from the property. The large-capacity kiln bestows various surface results throughout different zones in the kiln’s chamber.
Surface variations can be observed from piece to piece within the exhibition; some vessels became overly saturated in wood ash, which melted and became glaze, other vessels which received just as much ash, but not the highest temperature, are finished with a harder texture of un-melted ash along the form.
Every firing gives a different result, due to where the work is placed in the chamber and how the team fires the kiln.
“Our end-result is heavily dependent on one another, which is unique for art-making. This distinct quality attracts us to wood firing and the community keeps us coming back,” said Adams.
Vessels in the exhibit showcase the wide range of textures, color and artistic approaches that can result from such a laborious firing and diverse group of artists.
The presence of these varying clay vessels reinforms the themes of “Apart & Connected” through process and materiality. Viewing the work in person is highly encouraged, as it allows for details unseen to the camera lens.
“Apart & Connected” will be on view through June 20 at the Middletown Art Center. The gallery is open five days a week, Thursday through Monday, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MAC activities are in full swing. To find out more about upcoming events, programs, opportunities and ways to support the MAC’s efforts to weave the arts and culture into the fabric of life in Lake County visit them at www.middletownartcenter.org.
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- Written by: Jacque Adams
