Worth Watching: ‘Unbelievable,’ ‘Undone,’ Remembering Raul Julia
A selective critical checklist of notable Friday TV:
Unbelievable (streaming on Netflix): As gripping as a page-turner but also incredibly moving, this eight-part limited series, based on Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism, stars the remarkable Kaitlyn Dever (Last Man Standing, Booksmart) as a teenager ostracized as a “rape liar” after a 2008 sexual assault in a Seattle suburb. In a separate but connected narrative three years later, two dedicated Colorado detectives (Merrit Wever, Toni Collette, both excellent) pick up the trail of a serial rapist who’s very good at covering his tracks. The best crime dramas find an emotional core within the procedural details, and Unbelievable achieves this balance better than most.
More new Netflix offerings include a seventh cycle of the comedy The Ranch, in which Colt (Ashton Kutcher) hopes to reconcile with Abby (Elisha Cuthbert), Luke (Dax Shepard) seeks forgiveness from the family, and Beau (Sam Elliott) deals with aging while asking Joanne (Kathy Baker) to move in with him… Chelsea Handler returns to Netflix with the docu-special Hello, Privilege. It’s Me, Chelsea, examining the cultural implications of white privilege, including on her own career. And a foodie alert: While new episodes of the seventh season of The Great British Baking Show continue rolling out (weekly instead of the usual binge), the second season of The Chef Show premieres, with chef Roy Choi and actor/director Jon Favreau celebrating the flavors of many different cultures.
Undone (Amazon Prime Video): This fascinating adult animated fantasy is anything but a cartoon. Told through rotoscope animation, in which live-action actors are traced against painted backgrounds to hypnotic effect, Undone is somehow both surreal and hyper-real in its depiction of Alma (the terrific Rosa Salazar), a bored-to-death millennial whose temporal reality begins to shred after a car wreck. When she begins having visions of and conversations with her long-dead scientist dad (Bob Odenkirk), who takes credit for the accident, Alma has to decide what’s really happening: Is he actually training her to time-travel so she can solve and maybe prevent his murder? Or is she losing her mind? Whatever’s behind her trippy journey, it’s worth taking.
Raul Julia: The World’s a Stage (9/8c, PBS, check local listings at pbs.org): American Masters and Latino Public Broadcasting’s Voces collaborate for this overdue biographical portrait of the dynamic and charismatic actor/singer from Puerto Rico. Despite dying young (at age 54 in 1994), he influenced a generation of diverse actors, including John Leguizamo, Jimmy Smits and Andy Garcia, all interviewed for the special, along with such peers as Anjelica Huston, Edward James Olmos, Rita Moreno, James Earl Jones, Sonia Braga, Ruben Blades and Esai Morales. Career highlights included breakthrough roles with Joseph Papp’s Public Theater and movies including Kiss of the Spider Woman, Romero and The Addams Family.
Inside Friday TV: Delayed a day because of the Democratic debate, ABC’s Reef Break (9/8c) airs its season finale, with Cat (Poppy Montgomery) on the run as she tries to clear her name… Showtime enters the true-crime arena with the five-part Murder in the Bayou (9/8c), in which investigative journalist Ethan Brown finds disturbing connections in the unsolved murders of eight women in rural Louisiana… Time has finally caught up to the visionary 1970s sci-fi series Space: 1999, whose story began on Sept. 13, 1999, when an explosion blasted the Moon out of Earth’s orbit, sending moon-base inhabitants (including Martin Landau and Barbara Bain) into a cosmic adventure. Shout! Factory TV is streaming episodes of the series in a two-day “Breakaway Day” marathon.
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G
Reef Break!
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R
what did you think of last night's episode of The Outpost? Poor Gwynn now has two men she could end up with, and Talon.... well, I didn't know that one fact was going to take place.
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G
I enjoy every episode. The Queen has a lot of thinking to do. Two super handsome men, oh choices choices lol.
Good twist, hope CW renews this one.
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R
Yeah, I didn't realize that Talon and the other blackblood were, um, that close. :-p So the queen, Gwynn, released plaguelings on those people in order to kill their leader and get his army? That didn't seem quite nice. Plus, the "army" seemed more like displaced villagers rather than an army. Anyway, I still don't understand some of what's going on in this show, but the characters are good and the action and special effects are MUCH better than they used to be. 😀
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Totally agree!
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R
Not much to watch tonight on non-cable channels. But re-airings of the San Diego Zoo show on Animal Planet, and also some good stuff on Nat Geo and Nat Geo Wild. Plus, the Smithsonian Channel has a special on regarding Pompeii.
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C
Zoo shows on Animal Planet, Killjoys on SyFy, and American Masters on PBS!
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O
If you're a shut in, you really should consider a streaming service.
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C
Shut in? I don't even have time to watch all the shows I like on broadcast and basic cable channels let alone a streaming service. That said, I have taken advantage of a free weekend here and there of Netflix and Amazon Prime.
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G
There are some solid offerings on Netflix (I still use my nephew's passcode) and other services but like you mentioned , there is more than enough terrific programing already on broadcast and cable, especially during the Fall/Winter season. I truly don't have the available time for streaming services.
I barely watch Netflix as it is. I'm usually underwhelmed by most of the shows I sampled and the movie selection is awful. Xfinity/ Comcast has a much better selection .
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Yes. When I finally get to see an episode of a Netflix show I've heard so much about, I'm often disappointed.
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If you have the chance take a look at "The Act" on Hulu (maybe on a free preview). It's one the best shows I've seen this year, it's based on a true story and is highly recommended.
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I think you said you didn't like "The Umbrella Academy" on Netflix? I'm surprised, did you watch all the 1st season? It gets very good after the 4th or 5th episode.
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If I ever have the chance! I like Patricia Arquette a lot!
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If someone didn't know her and saw her performance on this series they would become a fan instantly. She is great.
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G
I struggled through around 7 or 8 eps. Not for me.
Even after 6 seasons Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Is still my favorite show, by far.
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