Calling the Shots

Lynn Redgrave's brilliant performance as a haunted newscaster in 'Calling the Shots' gave me nightmares. It's been 24 years and I still get the chills remembering the show. Memory, however helpful, is not good enough. All the words one wants to avoid using these days, simply because they're used too many times, must be applied here. 'Calling the Shots' was poignant, and full of gravitas. Remembering 'Calling the Shots,' I think about how women survive in the television news industry, how they survive childhood traumas, how they transcend survival, but am I remembering correctly? Who knows? I haven't seen this show for 24 years! How long must the world wait for this fantastic dramatic television miniseries to be released on DVD?

And Lynn Redgrave excels in this suspenseful TV mini-series. It is one of her finest roles.

The horror mounts as she sinks into a terror not of her creation but rather instigated by the criminals as a reaction to a story she is investigating in her job as a TV reporter. The supporting cast is outstanding also.

The tension builds and builds in this one, reminiscent of another great mini - Mother Love. In her search for the truth, Maggie, played with a believable Irish accent by Lynn, puts her life and love on hold. Terrific.

Her performance is completely believable and captivating. I have watched it quite a few times since it was first released.

10 out of 10.

I saw this on TV sometime around 1995 and was very impressed. In CALLING THE SHOTS, Redgrave plays a female television journalist who gets into a very scary kind of trouble over one of her stories. She receives threats and packages containing very provocative material. Before long she finds that this mysterious someone is stalking her. When the police get involved (useless as they always prove to be in these thrillers) it's discovered that her apartment has been fitted with bugging devices and hidden cameras. This thing never loses steam, but builds juicily towards the intense conclusion. Redgrave is excellent as the reporter trying to cope with an unnerving situation. The shocks are all well timed, too. CALLING THE SHOTS is a haunting and memorable mini-series that really should be seen.

This is one of those TV (mini) series that are worthy of re-running. Lynn Redgrave is an excellent actor and she excellently portrayed her character. I must admit I haven't seen much of her, but I think the fact I "fell in love" with her persona after just watching "Calling the shots" is a pretty good recommendation. (and BTW I love her accent) If you've ever seen Helen Mirren and her "Prime suspect" you'll like this one too. Lynn & Helen were both born to portray strong and intelligent women, women who are modern warriors. This is far from your typical female role on movies/TV, and there should be more of those...