When it comes to wholesome, clean TV viewing, which is becoming a shrinking island every day, When Calls the Heart, a Canadian-American drama series based on Janette Oke’s novel of the same name from her Canadian West series, is a rare find. No bad language. No steamy bedroom scenes. Beyond a few dipping necklines, the women on the show are modestly dressed, and characters occasionally spout Bible verses or refer to prayer and God’s blessings. Not to mention the wonderful acting, period apparel (that one could argue isn’t always quite accurate to the period), the picturesque town of Hope Valley, and the pure entertainment of good storytelling. There is much to enjoy here. Best of all, our family can sit down for an episode and not have to worry about objectionable content being splashed on our screen or issuing from our speakers. A rare find, indeed. I’m excited whenever I…
https://amzn.to/2N9Wr85 I enjoyed this memoir by Melissa Anderson (Melissa Sue or Mary on Little House on the Prairie). It is decently written, and she does a fine job describing how she got on the cast of Little House and what the overall experience was like to be on a popular TV show like that. She matter-of-factly shares some fun behind-the-scenes stories that are entertaining and reveal more about the cast and life on set. She also traces her career and mentions other projects she worked on over the years, though mostly she talks about Little House. I’ve not followed her career beyond Little House and wasn’t really interested in anything beyond that. A few things jumped out at me that I particularly liked: She doesn’t glorify her past indiscretions and sexual exploits, if she even experienced them. Her book is a contrast to Melissa Gilbert Prairie Tale, which spends too…
The year 1888 was busy in the annals of crime. While Jack the Ripper preyed on prostitutes in London, H. H. Holmes oversaw the construction of a large hotel/office building designed with unique amenities. It included hidden rooms, doors literally going nowhere, an airtight vault, and a chute going all the way to a basement crematorium. By the time of his execution in 1896, H. H. Holmes, Chicago serial killer at the time of the 1893 World’s Fair, had reportedly murdered more than twenty people. The History Channel series American Ripper gives us the H. H. Holmes treatment but with a twist. The premise is that H. H. Holmes was also Jack the Ripper. Jeff Mudgett, Holmes’s great-great grandson is determined to prove his ancestor was the notorious Jack and partners with Amaryllis Fox, a former CIA operative, to hunt down the proof. First-Rate Production First, the positive. This production is top notch when it comes…
