Gaslit

The ads got me and I subscribed to Starz just to see this. How could a cast like this be bad? Well, it can't. I am really happy to say it's off to a great start. The cast is awesome and Martha Mitchell deserved better than she got. I love the photography and the gratuitous nudity. I also like the TV shots. Go Martha. Good luck. Hope it's a big success. This cast can't fail. So far it has a 5.1 rating. Don't believe it. If you don't like this, you just don't get it.

Watching Julia Roberts not intentionally play Julia Roberts turns out to be quite refreshing now that she appears to be evolving into more of a character actress. She doesn't resemble the real Martha Mitchell except in conveying her outsized personality in this intriguing account of the Watergate break-in and the detrimental ramifications on the Nixon administration. Director Matt Ross appears to take cues from the Real Housewives in his dramatic treatment as cartoonish moments were mixed in effectively with the hidden events and conversations that really did occur. Under layers of latex, Sean Penn makes for an appropriately coiled John Mitchell, while Dan Steele looks to be on hyperdrive as John Dean. More entertaining than I expected, especially when the fallout gains momentum toward the end of episode 2.

"Gaslit" has a high-quality cast and production values, capturing the look and mood of the early '70s. But the tone is off-putting. Many scenes are played as broad farce, as if most of the key figures in the Watergate scandal were buffoons. These were corrupt people who made terrible blunders, but they were not all a bunch of clowns.

I think Sean Penn is very good as John Mitchell, but Julia Roberts could have put more a little more energy into her portrayal of Martha Mitchell, who was very flamboyant, colorful and opinionated. Dan Stevens as John Dean is a weak spot. He makes Dean seem very silly and clueless, and looks too hipster. These were Republicans! "Gaslit" explores an interesting episode in American political history, and includes many key facts, but the tone makes it seem a bit too much like a caricature.

If they made a series like this on the Trump administration they'd call it fake news and half the Americans wouldn't believe it. Thoroughly enjoyable and the cast was first rate.

Good show about what happened, showing the facts and the fumbling. Shea Whigham easily steals the show, playing a psycho so well that he's terrifying. He deserves an Emmy win for this one for sure.