sorrelloriginals

I was looking forward to this because it involves a period of American history that I find very interesting which is the time of the robber barons. It is immediately disconcerting when the very first scene is supposed to be a ball debut at the breakers, which is arguably the most famous mansion in Newport and the carriage pulls up at an impressive building, which is not the breakers. Neither are the interiors for the ballroom scene from the breakers. In addition to that, the period looks are completely off every single case various characters tell the main character, Miss Vanderbilt-Cross how stunning she looks in a gown that is positively dowdy and does not fit right. The hair is wrong. The makeup is wrong and the hats are wrong. The men's costumes are not much better. Some of the women of debutante age look like they are just playing dress up . In addition to the visual miss- steps we are expected to believe that at a very grand debutante ball everyone is waltzing to a string Quartet, and not a full orchestra. Mrs. Vanderbilt of the Breakers probably would have had two orchestras so that one could take a break and the music could go on interrupted. On top of that -and I don't care how politically incorrect it is to say so,, the recent practice of what I believe is called color blind casting is vastly disconcerting to a story that it is set in this highest level of New York society. A dressmaker in Newport that is a lady of color while somewhat implausible is at least a possibility but even a coroner's assistant being a lady of color borders more on the unbelievable in 1895. The hapless detective trying to conduct a murder investigation against all odds while very attractive looks more like an underwear model than a late 19 century policeman. I know that these TV movies are meant to be entertainment and not historical documents but period pieces are held to a higher standard in recent years and honestly, this is just a mess and the lackluster script and plot devices simply are not strong enough in their own right to make anything out of this.

This show works for me on so many levels that I wouldn't even know where to begin. I have read a great deal of praise in the user reviews and I tend to agree with all of it.

It is with dismay that I read criticisms such as "slow moving" because you really should not expect a James Bond pace from a story that is set in the declining years of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Life in general moved much more slowly in those days. Many of today's audience are spoiled by swiping, tapping and fast forwarding to get where they want to go and don't have the patience to pay attention to the details of a well-thought-out storyline. I am sorry for them. I like to watch these shows on demand because sometimes I need to rewind here and there to make sure that I didn't miss something. That aspect of today's technology comes in handy for me. For everybody else I would just say try paying attention. I think that those who enjoy Agatha Christie and her creations of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot will appreciate this as well as sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson fans. I would hope so.