I'm posting this in Feb. because it's Black History Month. The TV shows Robyn Hood, The Irrational, and Found all have Black actors as the lead.
I'm writing about these shows now because there are only 3 new shows that came out in the fall due to the writer's and actors strike:
Nov. 28, 2023 Yellowstone: This show came out in 2018. I never got to watch it until now on Global TV in Canada and CBS. This is a review of the pilot:
"A ranching family in Montana faces off against others encroaching on their land."
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4236770/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_yellowst
Pros:
1. There is a good opening. There is a car accident and John is there. He has to kill a dying horse.
2. The cast:
Kevin Costner- as the dad John Dutton. He's from The Bodyguard.
Luke Grimes- as Kayce Dutton. He is a cowboy and married to Aboriginal woman Monica and has a 8 yr old son Tate. They live on a reserve. He has a strained relationship with John.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2093766/?ref_=tt_cl_t_2
He kind of looks like Luke Mitchell:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1446779/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_2_nm_6_q_luke%2520mithc
He kind of looks like Garrett Hedlund:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1330560/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3_tt_0_nm_8_q_Garr
Wes Bentley- as Jamie Dutton, a livestock commissioner. He was from American Beauty.
Kelly Reilly- as Beth Dutton. She works at this finance company. I remember seeing her on the promos for the TV show Black Box.
I looked up what her job was, and there are these funny comments about her and her character.
Kelsey Asbille- as Monica Dutton, Kayce's wife. She's a teacher on the reserve.
https://www.reddit.com/r/YellowstonePN/comments/yxi2zm/wtf_is_beths_finance_job/
3. The setting: This is in Montana.
4. There is ethnic diversity with Aboriginals on this show.
5. There is action at the end of the pilot. There is shooting at a helicopter.
Spoiler alert: Kayce saves his cattle against his dad John. Kayce tries to save his brother Lee (Dave Annable) who got shot. Lee dies. Kayce shoots and kills his brother-in-law.
It was crazy with the Tribal Police, Bureau of Land Management and Montana's Livestock Association.
Cons: None.
Comparisons: A family drama set in the prairies.
Heartland: I used to watch this Canadian show when it first came out. I was in my early 20s and watched the first few seasons. This is shot in Alberta.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1094229/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_heartland
Ride: I haven't seen this Canadian show. This is shot in Alberta.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21043326/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3_tt_8_nm_0_q_ride
My opinion: The pilot was average. I didn't really like the characters or the story. I recorded the series and I'm probably not going to watch it. I recorded this in case there aren't a lot of scripted dramas to watch during the summer.
I got these video clips showed up on my Facebook feed last year, so I watched these 2 clips. I thought they were good, so that's why I decided to check out the pilot.
In the season 2 ep 2 "New Beginnings":
Monica starts her job as a college professor and tells off a male student who makes a sexist joke. She tells she has the power to kick him out of class and the school.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YscqvroL7vg&t=1s
In the season 2 ep 9 "Enemies by Monday."
Beth Bails Out Monica: Monica is accused of shoplifting. Beth bails her out and vandalizes the store.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIPMfYN70Cw
Robyn Hood: This is a Canadian show on Global. This is a review of the pilot:
"Follows Robyn Loxley and anti-authoritarian masked hip-hop band, The Hood, as they call out injustices and fight for freedom and equality in the city of New Nottingham."
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20918756/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_7_nm_1_q_robyn%2520hood
Pros:
1. The opening was good with 3 young people rapping in an abandoned building. 2 cops come and chase them out. They run to their apartment building. The residents throw eggs at the cop car and shoot billiard balls onto the cop's drone.
2. The cast:
Jessye Romeo- she is Robyn. She's 24 yrs old and lives with her mom Tressie and little sister Jill. Her parents are divorced.
3. The story has a conflict with John Prince who wants to buy Sherwood from Mayor. His city is expanding. Tressie, Jill and others are protesting to save Sherwood and their home from being bought out.
John gets Tressie arrested for inciting violence, but she ends up getting shot. She will go to prison and be killed, unless she gets $30K to be bailed out.
4. There is action as Robyn and her friends were going to steal gold from Prince.
Robyn steals key card from Prince's son Chet.
They get into a physical fight as they leave.
Robyn chokes Prince (Ian Matthews) with her legs.
Little John (Nykeem Provo) fights the Sheriff (Kira Guloien).
5. Ethnic diversity.
Cons: None.
Comparisons: This kind of seemed like those CW and superhero shows with the characters in their teens and early 20s fighting against injustice.
My opinion: The pilot was really mediocre. I didn't really like this at all, and I don't know how to improve on it.
Right now the rating is 1/ 10 from 5.8K votes. All 8 episodes are rated 1/ 10.
Dec. 12, 2023 The Irrational: I saw the first 7 eps, and most of them in a week. There are to be 11 eps for the 1st season. I'm writing about this now because new episodes aren't going to be airing for awhile:
"Alec Mercer is a world-renowned behavioral scientist who lends his expertise to an array of high-stakes cases involving governments, law enforcement and corporations with his unique and unexpected approach to understanding human behavior."
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16288838/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_7_nm_1_q_the%2520irr
Pros:
1. Good opening: A man is holding a baby and a gun in an apartment. A woman/ mother of the baby is there. The FBI is outside.
Alec talks to the man on the phone:
Alec: You want a helicopter? Ok, but you'll have to kill the pilot. What about the baby? Are you going to bring formula?
The Man throws the gun out the window.
Alec explains this is paradoxical persuasion: I overly embraced his idea to force him to think it through enough to realize it was a terrible idea.
2. Good cast:
Jesse L. Martin- he was on The Flash. I only saw the pilot of that show. He is a college professor teaching psychology.
He tells the class he has 60% of his body burned. He was standing outside of a church and it blew up. The bomber is in jail, but there's still more to this case. They will be solving this.
This event adds more drama, conflict, and tension to the show and his character.
The rest of the cast, I have never seen before which is fine.
Maahra Hill- is Marisa, an FBI agent and Alec's ex- wife. She is investigating the bombing case. She and Alec call each other for help in cases.
Travina Springer- she is Kylie, Alec's little sister. She works in tech.
Molly Kunz- she plays Phoebe, one of Alec's research assistants.
Arash Demaxi- he plays Rizwan, one of Alec's research assistants.
3. The show is smart and I learn about psychology which I'm interested in.
In the pilot, there was a mention of a 1990s experiment where they convince scores of adults the were lost in the mall as kids to prove how easy it is to trick our minds into remembering things.
Anyone can confess to anything given the right circumstances.
Marisa (to Alec): You are never going to closure on the past unless you deal with it in the present.
Alec (to Dylan): You can't just try not to drink, you have to replace with with something else that helps you move forward. For me, it's my work.
My opinion: I agree with Alec. When I had to quit watching bad talk shows and reality shows, I had to only watch scripted shows that I like.
4. There is good writing with solving mysteries and drama, conflict, and tension.
In the pilot, there was a woman Jasmine who was murdered, and her boyfriend Dylan is the suspect. Dylan went to AA.
There was a 5 yr chip for AA in Jasmine's apartment, but Dylan hasn't been sober that long.
Alec and Rizwan go to AA to find the killer.
Spoiler alert: Alec finds the one who has been sober that long, and it's Dylan's sponsor Ray. Ray wanted to date Jasmine, but she turned him down. She was going to go online and tell everybody that Ray was harassing her.
Ray: She was going to ruin my life.
Alec: So you took hers and ruined Dylan's.
5. There is a little action.
6. Ethnic diversity and LGBTQ.
7. This show is filmed in British Columbia. I can see all the Canadian actors get all the small roles.
Cons: None.
Comparisons: A psychologist who solves cases.
Lie to Me:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235099/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_lie%2520to%2520me
This reminds me of my Oct. 2023 blog post. These are news articles and my TV and movie comparisons where people try to make sense and logic out of something stupid:
"How TikTok's 'girl math' trend is changing the online money conversation"/ "'Boy math' explained: People are mocking embarrassing and shameful things men do and they're using the backwards logic of men to do it"
https://badcb.blogspot.com/2023/10/how-tiktoks-girl-math-trend-is-changing.html
My opinion: This show is average. I will probably watch this show when my other shows that I like more are on break.
This show is based on the book Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely.
Found: I saw the first 10 episodes of this show. I'm writing about this now because new episodes aren't going to be airing for awhile:
"Each year, over 600,000 people are reported missing in the U.S., but not all cases receive the proper attention. Gabi Mosely and her crisis management team make sure there is always someone looking out for the forgotten missing people."
Pros:
1. There is a good opening of teen Gabi locked inside a cabin. A 7 yr old girl Bella is put in there and she's crying. This is in 2003.
Cut to the present and Gabi is an adult and dressed like a prostitute. She knocks on a door and asked to use the Man's phone. She punches him in the nose and threatens him.
Gabi: You tell me where he is and I get him. When the cops get here, you will give a full confession.
Dhan comes in and beats up the bad guy. Zeke has a drone and is looking for the boy. Gabi finds the 7 yr old Black boy.
Gabi: Your parents sent me to find you.
The dad hugs Gabi and thanks her.
Gabi goes to the press and media:
Gabi: I work in crisis management firm. I was kidnapped 20 yrs ago and rescued myself from my kidnapper.
She shows the white senator's 5 yr old girl who's missing and this teen Black girl who went missing, and not as much coverage on her.
Then shows credit.
2. The cast:
Shanola Hampton- she plays Gabi Mosley. I looked at her credits, and I do remember the episode of Criminal Minds she was on.
Kelli Williams- she's Margaret and is very perceptive. Her son went missing when he was 5 yrs old at the bus station. He would be 18 yrs old now. She goes there every night looking for him. She was on Lie to Me.
Brett Dalton- he plays the cop Mark Trent. He and Gabi like each other. They help each other on cases. He was on Agents of Shield.
Gabrielle Walsh- she plays Lacey and was kidnapped with Gabi. She's in law school.
Arlen Escarpeta- he is Zeke. He is the tech expert and has the money to fund the company. He was also kidnapped and has agoraphobia.
Karan Oberoi- he is Dhan, the muscle. He is gay and has a husband. He was also kidnapped.
Azari Carter- she plays teen Gabi.
Mark- Paul Gosselaar- as Sir who kidnaps Gabi and Bella/ Lacey.
3. Good writing. There's a mystery with finding missing people. There is drama, conflict, and tension with each case.
There are plot twists to these cases.
All the characters have either been kidnapped or someone they love has been kidnapped, so all the characters have experienced trauma.
The pilot is where a 10 yr old Black boy asks Gabi for help. His Black foster sister Kamiah is missing and she wouldn't leave him without taking him with her. The white foster parents said Kamiah runs away for a day and comes back.
She could have run off with her boyfriend or went to her mom. Her mom went to rehab and is upset that Kamiah is missing. She was so upset that she was going to commit suicide, but Dhan talks her down from building ledge.
Then later the 5 yr old white girl and senator's daughter is found, and wearing the same hoodie that Kamiah was wearing.
It turns out the girl IDs Kamiah who helped her, and the man who took her is the senator's son's drug dealer. The drug dealer wanted his money so he took the little sister.
There is the case of where is Sir?
Spoiler alert at the end of the pilot: Gabi is holding Sir in her basement. She is asking him for his help in solving these cases.
4. There is a little action.
5. Ethnic diversity and LGBTQ.
Cons: None.
Comparisons: A good guy has to work with the bad guy as the main point of the show:
The Blacklist: I saw the pilot. It was average and then I never watched it again.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2741602/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_the%2520bl
The Endgame: I saw the first season (only had 1 season). I thought this was average.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14507354/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_the%2520endg
Aug. 25, 2023 A law enforcement agency that finds missing people:
Without a Trace: I saw 2 episodes of this show. This was average.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0321021/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1_tt_7_nm_0_q_without
1- 800- Missing: I saw a few episodes of this show. I did read the books 1-800-WHERE- R- U by Megan Cabot. This was average.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373474/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_1%2520800%2520M
Alert: Missing Persons Unit: I saw the first season of this show. This show is average at best, and mediocre at worst. If I have to choose, I would say mediocre.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18699118/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_alert
My opinion: This show is average. I will probably watch this show when my other shows that I like more are on break.
I mainly watched The Irrational and Found, because my favorite scripted dramas aren't on because of the TV writers and actors strike.
Nov, 29, 2023 "‘Found’ and ‘The Irrational’ Both Renewed for Season 2 at NBC":
Today I found this article by Selome Hailu on Deadline:
https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/found-the-irrational-renewed-season-2-nbc-1235814015/
Bredin College
Bredin Centre- Connecting Albertans to Education and Employment
My week:
Sat. Feb. 17, 2024 "Thieves stole $1,000 in Optimum points from this woman. Here's how to safeguard your points": Today I found this article by Brandie Weikle and Jason Vermes on CBC:
When April Canavan's inbox was suddenly flooded with emails in December, she knew something had gone wrong.
The Vancouver woman found herself subscribed to mailing lists she'd never signed up for, along with emails saying she'd just redeemed PC Optimum points at a grocery store halfway across the country.
Within about 25 minutes, Canavan says fraudsters drained around $1,000 worth of points from her account, and the mailing-list tactic aimed to distract her from the theft.
When April Canavan's inbox was suddenly flooded with emails in December, she knew something had gone wrong.
The Vancouver woman found herself subscribed to mailing lists she'd never signed up for, along with emails saying she'd just redeemed PC Optimum points at a grocery store halfway across the country.
Within about 25 minutes, Canavan says fraudsters drained around $1,000 worth of points from her account, and the mailing-list tactic aimed to distract her from the theft.
How it happens
There are two main ways bad actors can get their hands on your points.
The first is to take advantage of the fact that many people reuse the same dead-easy password across multiple sites, said Lee. If you use a password like "Password1234," for example, a thief only has to figure that out in one place to access your profiles across multiple businesses, he said.
"The fraudster essentially does a form of credential stuffing. They just brute force try a ton of different password permutations to eventually crack the code."
Fraud prevention tips
The statement went on to offer fraud-prevention tips, like enabling two-step verification on email accounts, never clicking on links in emails claiming that your account has been compromised, and using a password manager such as LastPass or 1Password.
Two-step verification requires users to sign into accounts with more than just a password — usually a security code sent via text or push notification. The extra layer of security makes it that much more difficult for hackers to gain access.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/costofliving/loyalty-point-theft-1.7115362
The statement went on to offer fraud-prevention tips, like enabling two-step verification on email accounts, never clicking on links in emails claiming that your account has been compromised, and using a password manager such as LastPass or 1Password.
Two-step verification requires users to sign into accounts with more than just a password — usually a security code sent via text or push notification. The extra layer of security makes it that much more difficult for hackers to gain access.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/costofliving/loyalty-point-theft-1.7115362
Things... is a party game where everyone writes a response to a particular prompt, such as "Things... you shouldn't put in your mouth," and the players then try to guess which player wrote which response.
A reader is chosen. This reader reads aloud a Topic Card.
The players all write a response, fold up the slip of paper and turn it in to the reader, who reads them aloud once and then a second time.
The player to the left of the reader has to guess who wrote which response. This is all done from memory, without benefit of taking notes or having the responses read again.
If the guesser is correct, he or she continues guessing until incorrect, at which time the player to his/her left tries guessing.
Players whose responses were correctly identified are eliminated and cannot make guesses.
The round ends when one player has not been matched to a response.
1 point is awarded for each correct guess.
6 points are awarded to the person who successfully avoided detection.
The job of reader passes to the left.
When everyone has been reader once, the game ends.
High score wins.
Forest/Terrace Heights Community Hall:
Clothing Swap
Come swap, donate, or take gently used clothes to update your wardrobe.
Clothing Drop-Off: February 22 and 23, 6pm-8pm
Swap time: February 24 and 25, 10am-3pm
Who can attend? Please invite any friends or family you think would want to participate. Everyone is welcome! A community league membership is not required, but is encouraged as it helps support events like this. You can purchase a membership here.
What is it? A clothing swap is a type of swap meet where participants exchange their valued but no longer used clothing for clothing they will use. Clothing swaps are a good way to refill one's wardrobe, and also great for the environment. You don't need to bring clothes to take clothes and you don't need to take clothes to bring clothes. Come over and swap some clothes you no longer want from your closet!
Please stop by to drop off your donations on the 22 or 23 as it gives us time to sort clothing ahead of time. Donations will be accepted Saturday but in order to limit leftover items, no donations will be accepted Sunday.
Once the swap is over, remaining items will be donated to a local organization.
Things to remember:
1) There is no limit on the number of articles brought to the swap.
2) Items must be clean (no stains), gently worn (no rips or broken zippers), or new.
3) Open to womens', mens' and childrens' clothing and accessories such as purses, scarves, and belts.
4) No footwear and no underwear.
5) If you are experiencing any sort of flu or cold symptoms, please stay home.
6) Tickets/registration is not required.
Please go to our communal site if you can help and volunteer.
https://www.forestterrace.org/event-info/clothing-swap-3
