"The Sopranos" Season 1

Introducing the biggest baddie since Michael Corleone, Tony Soprano explodes onto the scene as the heart, soul and mind of one of the biggest mob families in New Jersey. Every episode we see the ups and downs of running a mob with the FBI breathing heavily down their necks while, at the same time, managing a dysfunctional family, featuring a stressed out wife, a rebellious teenage daughter, and an awkward preteen son.
After several strokes, Tony seeks counsel to cope with the constant stress. At first, he was adamant, often swearing and telling the psychiatrist off, but he always returned by the end of the episode. As the season progresses, however, he becomes more loose about his secret. I guess to kick it up a notch on whether the psychiatrist will alert the authorities.
Outside the home and the therapist office, the DiMeo clan struggle to keep their grip tight with their clients only to often lead to disasterous results, like Tony losing his friend Artie because he intentionally blew up Artie's restaurant. Chris, Tony's protégé, struggles with an existential crisis of trying to make his own name. He even tried to write gangster film screenplays to gain some fame.
Even though Tony runs everything, it's his Uncle Junior who's the head honcho, and much of the season has them clash on how to efficiently run the family, which makes you wonder how this show managed to stay on for 5 more seasons after this.
The biggest chip on Tony's shoulder is his mother is always comparing him to his father, calling him a saint. This is actually the reason I decided to check out this show. It is rumored that a spin off film is in the works, The Many Saints of Newark, with James Gandolfini's son, Michael, filling in the role of Tony Soprano, as it will show Tony's father during the time of the 1967 riots in Newark. But the flashbacks were enough to see that he wasn't always a saint. But who knows?

The season got off with a roaring start that makes want to stay tuned every week. Then the season kind of waned when the FBI made a move on the family's less important members. When the season ends with the Sopranos enjoying spaghetti at Artie's refurbished restaurant, you wonder if it's worth continuing to season two. I wonder if HBO had no idea how the viewing audience would react, so the gave the show a neutral ending in case the show bombed.

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Aired on HBO: January 10 - April 4, 1999
Rating: TV-MA
Stars: James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli, Dominic Chianese, Vincent Pastore, Steven Van Zandt, Tony Sirico, Robert Iler, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Nancy Marchand
Directors: David Chase, Dan Attias, Nick Gomez, John Patterson, Allen Coulter, Alan Taylor, Lorraine Senna Ferrara, Tim Van Patten, Andy Wolk, Matthew Penn, Henry J. Bronchtein
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100% Certified Fresh
IMDb Score: 8.7/10 (Average)

Awards
Primetime Emmy Awards

• Outstanding Drama Series - Nominated
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (James Gandolfini) - Nominated
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Edie Falco) - Winner
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Lorraine Bracco) - Nominated
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Nancy Marchand) - Nominated
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (John Heard) - Nominated
• Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (David Chase) - Nominated
• Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (David Chase) - Nominated
• Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess) - Nominated
• Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (James Manos Jr.) - Winner
• Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (Frank Renzulli) - Nominated

Golden Globe Awards

• Best Drama Series - Winner
• Best Actor in a Drama Series (James Gandolfini) - Winner
• Best Actress in a Drama Series (Lorraine Bracco) - Nominated
• Best Actress in a Drama Series (Edie Falco) - Winner
• Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film (Nancy Marchand) - Winner

(Click here to view more awards for "The Sopranos" Season 1.)

Videos
TV Sins - Everything Wrong With The Sopranos "Pilot"

"Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan"

To the people of Kazakhstan, I am very sorry this movie exists. Actually, no I'm not. The dude is from England. He's England's problem.

I honestly hate mockumentaries. It's rather infuriating to watch such pure sh*t where people are conned into making a fool of themselves. I read that Sacha Baron Cohen was arrested 92 times over the course of the production. That should tell you something. If 92 people call the police on you, maybe you shouldn't do it. 

There really isn't much to say; the film kind of speaks for itself on what NOT to do. 

I want to applaud Pamela Anderson for being such a good sport in this sh*tty movie, and I am glad this didn't ruin her reputation. Kid Rock could get a grip, however, and not divorce her over this movie.

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Released On: November 3, 2006
Rating: R
Stars: Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian, Pamela Anderson, Luenell, Alan Keyes, Former Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA)
Director: Larry Charles
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91% Certified Fresh (Are you serious?)
IMDb Score: 7.3/10 (*sighs*)

Awards

Academy Awards

• Best Adapted Screenplay (Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Dan Mazer & Todd Phillips) - Nominated

Golden Globe Awards

• Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy - Nominated
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Sacha Baron Cohen) - Winner

(Click here to view more awards for "Borat".)

"The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas"

This movie would have been good if it wasn't a musical. Many of the numbers took me out of the movie from the Aggies number to the Governor dodging reporters. Otherwise, it was a cute movie.
This is my first movie starring Burt Reynolds (*gasps* I know). I'm sure many first time viewers at the time were as surprised as I was to see Smokey carry a tune.
This is also the first time I saw Dom DeLuise's ugly face. I knew him from voice roles in several Don Bluth movies, An American Tail, The Secret of NIMH, and All Dogs Go to Heaven.
I'm having a hard time understanding that the Chicken Ranch was still functioning in the early eighties. I understand prostitution was harder to catch at the time, but Miss Mona's girls weren't going nowhere. And what's worse, the sheriff does nothing about the illegal prostitution. Hell, he's engaged in a hot relationship with the madam. But it only took some schmuck from New Jersey to stick his nose into the Texas institution. Of all the dirty laundry Ed Earl hung up about Melvin P. Thorpe, cheap toupee, sock in his underwear, how come his place of origin never came up to show that this Texas lover is a fraud?
The governor brings up a recent memory of our real government where our leader constantly avoids his job that he was voted in for. Sometimes I wish we were a parliament instead of a congress. The British Parliament has the vote of no confidence. House of Lords vote the Prime Minister out simple as that. No trial, no bullsh*t. However, at the same time it's probably a good thing we don't have the vote of no confidence because then we'd have a revolving door of Presidents.
Despite all this, I'm disappointed that the Chicken Ranch closed for good, and all they did about it was Ed Earl and Miss Mona got married. That's it. There's two hours I'll never get back.
If it was the best, why did they close it? Melvin P. Thorpe's message is that prostitution is illegal and immoral. Wait until he finds out in 15 years that Tony Soprano is running a brothel in his home state of New Jersey. Yes, it's a strip club, but he uses those girls as an influence to his clients.

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Released On: July 23, 1982
Rating: R
Stars: Burt Reynolds, Dolly Parton, Dom DeLuise, Charles Durning, Jim Nabors
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 56%
IMDb Score: 6.0/10

Awards
Academy Awards

• Best Supporting Actor (Charles Durning) - Nominated

Golden Globe Awards

• Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) - Nominated
• Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) (Dolly Parton) - Nominated

"Deadpool 2"

F*ck Deadpool.

I know he may ask for time, place, and position, but f*ck him! Yes, I laughed my ass off at this movie, but then I sat down thought.

While Wade was contemplating that "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" and "Papa, Can You Here Me?" sound similar, I'm contemplating that...

That's right, Deadpool 2 and X-Men: Days of Future Past have the same plot.
Deadpool has a habit of trolling Wolverine, and I think it's because they are very similar. They're both Canadian, they have healing powers, and they have a dead girlfriend they killed.
Okay, Deadpool isn't responsible for Vanessa's death, but he feels just the same. As he struggles to cope with Vanessa's death he begins to feel for another person. A young mutant, named Firefist, fights against a scientist destined to wipe out the mutant race through a series of Mike Pence conversion therapies. Deadpool tries to teach him that he doesn't need to resort to violence to get revenge, although that sounded pretty nice to Deadpool. But it take his act of sacrifice to actually bring Firefist around, and not destroy the world.
Hot on their heels is Cable, a futuristic humanoid, who sounds a lot like Thanos, who travels back in time to kill Firefist before he kills the scientist and brings on the apocalypse. So it up to Deadpool to set things right before Cable gets is metal arms on him.
Deadpool continues to defy stereotypes as he decides to build his own team, the X-Force, but it becomes short lived because every member, except for Domino, die in a parachute drop with one gruesome death after another. But Deadpool manages to assemble his X-Force in the end, with Cable, Domino, Firefist, Dopinder, and Weasel.
The end credits has Deadpool playing with Cable's time traveling device, which he uses to go back to X-Men Origins: Wolverine to kill the Deadpool in that movie. As funny as that was, the bastardization that the original Deadpool is the reason we have Deadpool now. Based on the logic of Professor Hulk's time travel, that timeline won't have a Deadpool that coincides with his original timeline. Deadpool goes to when Ryan Reynolds is given the script to the now disastrous Green Lantern film, and kills him as a favor to Canada. Again, Reynolds' Green Lantern is the reason we have Deadpool now, so that's two timelines that no longer have Deadpool because he's too stubborn to let go of his past.
Speaking of his past, can we have a portion of Deadpool 3 dedicated to Wade Wilson's past before he became a mercenary with Sister Margaret's. I want to know the reason he quit after his 31 confirmed kills.

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Released On: May 18, 2018
Rating: R
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, Julian Dennison, Zazie Beetz, T.J. Miller, Brianna Hildebrand, Jack Kesy
Director: David Leitch
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84% Certified Fresh
IMDb Score: 7.7/10

Awards
Grammy Award
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media - Nominated
(Click here to view more awards for "Deadpool 2".)

Videos
CinemaSins - Everything Wrong With Deadpool 2 in 19 Minutes or Less
Screen Junkies - Honest Trailers - Deadpool 2 (feat. Deadpool)
How It Should Have Ended - How Deadpool 2 Should Have Ended

"Big Mouth" Seasons 1-3

Where was this show when I was going through puberty ten years ago? Well, to be fair, Netflix was still mailing DVDs to our homes, then; we had no idea we would be watching Family Guy on steroids on the Internet.
This show strips away the stigma of sexual education like Steve Carell's chest hair in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Right from the first episode you're warned of what you're getting into. When a child enters puberty, he or she is assigned a hormone monster that channels their adolescence from positive to downright offensive outcomes. Through each of the main characters, we learn that not all puberty is the same.
Andrew Glouberman is a budding awkward teen with extremely weird sexual kinks: a tomato shaped like a butt, an assistant at his dad's firm, Nick's sister Leah, his cousin Cherry, and Missy. From his stand point, he has intentions in his actions, but he often goes way too far to prove a point, like when he believed Lars didn't need his chair. He struggles to come into his own because his parents refuse to talk to him about his ever changing body.
Nick Birch struggles with his small stature compared to Andrew. In fact, Nick is the complete opposite of Andrew. His parents are super affectionate it's almost embarrassing. Nick goes through several hormone monsters before currently settling on Connie. Nick's past monsters set him at odds with his friends; even he and Connie got off to a rough start because Nick suddenly became sensitive about his body.
Jessi Glasser struggles with the ups and downs of puberty the minute her period appeared. She constantly battles the Depression Kitty mostly because her mother has come out as a lesbian, her father is constantly distant, her stance on women's rights is often attacked, and she just realized she likes Nick's scary older brother, Judd, and his musky smell.
Jay is the inappropriate oddball of the group. It is unknown who his hormone monster is, Maury is convinced he's his own, and he is constantly jizzed up to anything. It actually pushes him to question his sexual identity. By the end of season 3, he has come out as bisexual, but nobody believes him. In season 3, we also learn he lives in a broken home; his father is a Saul Goodman-like two-bit lawyer, his mother is a wino, his brothers are abusive, his dog battles existentialism, and it's basically every man for himself.
Matthew is only other out kid in the group. He often teams up with Jessi on outings to protest age old sexist rituals. He constantly struggles with his solitude, fearing he'd find no one. But all that changes when he meets Aiden. Then he is flustered because his parents don't seem to know, let alone understand, that he's gay. I can see this go two ways. Mom will be all for it, but Army Dad is the kicker. he will either disown Matthew or go Call Me By Your Name and tell Matthew he's secretly gay too and applauds him of his bravery.
Missy is the group nerd that should be taken more seriously than she is. She comes from a supportive mixed family who teaches her to be herself. She always has something smart to say on whatever the subject is. But when she tries to speak up for herself, she is either shot down or she shoots others out of the way. Season 3 ends with Missy and her new monstress, Mona, likely starting a sexual war with the group. I feel she is going to really develop with will throw everyone off, but she slowly lose her intellect, brains for boobs. By the end she will have a Rizzo-esque musical number, hopefully sobering herself up. She has the capacity to be sexually attractive, and she knows it, but acting on it is what scares her. 

Is it weird to think about that on a 13-year-old animated girl?
Let me be clear that these kids are THIRTEEN years old! They are thinking about sex way too much. I remember being thirteen. I was still getting used to the morning reveille that goes on down there. I had no idea how to correlate with another partner. And the nudity is outrageous just because they are thirteen.
The adults in the show proves that we are never done developing. Coach Steve is an emotionally stunted adult who was still a virgin at 47. Apparently, the monsters help you develop until you can actually perform sexual intercourse, which may explain why Jay doesn't have a monster; he's constantly f*cking his pillows.
Jessi's parents demonstrate that marriages just fall apart, and that you can discover your sexuality late in life. Jessi's mother was actually dumped at the end of season 3, and she wants to move to the city, so we'll have to see where they go from there.
Andrew's parents appear to be a loveless relationship, and it appeared to get worse when the Menopause Banshee starts knocking on Mrs. Glouberman's door. But it's clear there's still some flamage in the marriage, Mr. Glouberman is just a stereotypical, angry Jewish man.
Nick's parents show that they're super affectionate with each other and their wildly different children. I actually wonder how long this will last, especially since Nick is starting to act hostile.
The hormone monsters make it all worth it because their outrageous humor causes you to do spit takes on the stupidest of jokes. When a child is confronted with a conflict, the monsters are always on the sidelines shouting horrendously bad advice, and you kind of sit on the edge of your seat wondering how the child will actually respond. But I wonder how the logic of the monsters work. Can the kids see each others' monsters? Can Nick see Maury and Andrew see Connie? When they consult with their monsters, are the kids imagining the conversation or are they seen as possibly insane, especially in a crowd? I believe I had Connie growing up; I wasn't about masculinity. Don't get me wrong, I want to look good, but I wasn't hitting the gym 24/7. I still feel the Depression Kitty's claws on me; it's a constant struggle right now. But I'm not helpless, so I'm sure that is scaring her off.
I find this show extremely helpful in educating the human anatomy, especially since I'm too embarrassed to ask certain questions. My mom is just as supportive as the Birches, it's overwhelming. There is one subject I want to talk about, but I need to do some research. One of the episodes had the kids put on a musical based on the 1994 film Disclosure. Stay tuned.

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Season 1
Released on Netflix: September 29, 2017
Rating: TV-MA
Stars: Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Jessi Klein, Jason Mantzoukas, Jenny Slate, Fred Armisen, Maya Rudolph, Jordan Peele
Directors: Joel Moser, Bryan Francis, Mike L. Mayfield
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% Certified Fresh
IMDb Score: 7.7/10 (Average)

Season 2
Released on Netflix: October 5, 2018
Rating: TV-MA
Stars: Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Jessi Klein, Jason Mantzoukas, Jenny Slate, Fred Armisen, Maya Rudolph, Jordan Peele
Directors: Bob Suarez, Bryan Francis, Joel Moser
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100% Certified Fresh
IMDb Score: 8.0/10 (Average)

My Furry Valentine
Released on Netflix: February 8, 2019
Rating: TV-MA
Stars: Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Jessi Klein, Jason Mantzoukas, Jenny Slate, Fred Armisen, Maya Rudolph, Jordan Peele
Directors: Kim Arndt, Bob Suarez
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100% Certified Fresh
IMDb Score: 8.1/10

Season 3
Released on Netflix: October 4, 2019
Rating: TV-MA
Stars: Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Jessi Klein, Jason Mantzoukas, Jenny Slate, Fred Armisen, Maya Rudolph, Jordan Peele
Directors: Bob Suarez, Bryan Francis, Joel Moser, Kim Arndt, Mike L. Mayfield
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96% Certified Fresh
IMDb Score: 7.9/10 (Average)

Awards
Primetime Emmy Awards

• 2018 - Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics (Mark Rivers) - Nominated
• 2019 - Outstanding Animated Program - Nominated

(Clicking here to view more awards for "Big Mouth".)

"The Mandalorian" Season 1

 From the guy who dated Monica Gellar comes the TV show equivalent of getting the knock-off toy for Christmas as this was the answer to the Boba Fett movie we have asked for.

This western style adventure chronicles a notorious Mandalorian bounty hunter, not Boba, as he encounters a child with extraordinary abilities. For reasons we do not know, it is hunted by Gus Fring wielding a black lightsaber. That's it. That's the whole show.

Like westerns, this was highly predictable. Badass lawman making a living picking up scum from the desert, finds a child, develop, attachment of the child, becomes a wanted man, saves a random village he stumbles upon from local terrorists, the main bad guy corners him in the bar, they fight, you think the bad guy is dead; I'm surprised a western style poster with Gus' picture didn't show up on the screen with the text printed on it: "Gus Fring will return!"

Alright, let's settle this once and for all. How effective are blasters to the Mandalorian? Over the last forty years we have seen that one shot is all it takes to kill you, unless you are shot in the arm, then you're mildly injured. The worse damage it could do to the Mandalorian is strip his armor of its dignity. The blaster bolts bounce off of him and he's just pissed.

The pilot episode showed the Mandalorian putting his asset into carbon freeze. As I recall in Empire, Darth Vader considered it crude to put prisoners in carbonite. It appears, however, to be a common source of transporting prisoners. Maybe word spread of Han Solo surviving carbonite  and so bounty hunters started using it. Unless, the prisoners were wanted dead. 

This show ran the bad stormtrooper aim joke into the ground. It's not funny anymore. And the possiblity of the Mandalorian being a Gungan, it's like get some new jokes. You're the reason everyone hates Star Wars now. 

The story is set in wake of the fallen Empire, so no, the child IS NOT YODA! It makes me mad that we have access to all nine main movies, two spinoffs, a TV series, books, comics, and fabled bootleg movies to know that the child isn't Yoda. Yes, it's the same species as Yoda. But that doesn't mean its name is Yoda. That's incredibly racist. That's like calling every black person LeBron.

It's hard to truly get engaged with the show. It is forty percent walking through the desert, forty percent fixing the ship, ten percent negotiating, five percent playing peekaboo with the child, and five percent trying to skip ahead to the next episode when the credits roll. 

I will say this. The filmmakers seem dedicated to return to basics on some things, like using puppets and other practical effects. It does, however, look too shiny to really give that eighties aesthetic. I mean that's what made Star Wars so special. They managed to craft a compelling science fiction story that stood the test of time. I'm sorry, this show will fade in time. This is the Way.

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Released on Disney+: November 12 - December 27, 2019

Rating: TV-14

Stars: Pedro Pascal, Nick Nolte, Taika Waititi, Gina Carano, Carl Weathers, Werner Herzog, Giancarlo Esposito

Directors: Dave Filoni, Rick Famuyiwa, Deborah Chow, Bryce Dallas Howard, Taika Waititi

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93% Certified Fresh

IMDb Score: 8.6/10 (Average)

Awards

Primetime Emmy Awards

• Outstanding Drama Series - Nominated

Primetime Creative Emmy Awards

• Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance (Taika Waititi) - Nominated
• Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (Half-Hour) (Greig Fraser & Baz Idoine) - Winner
• Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes (Joseph Porro, Julie Robar, Gigi Melton and Lauren Silvestri) - Nominated
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (Giancarlo Esposito) - Pending
• Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Ludwig Göransson) - Pending
• Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Program (Half-Hour or Less) (Andrew L. Jones, Jeff Wisniewski, Amanda Serino) - Winner
• Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Limited Series, Movie or Special (Brian Sipe, Alexei Dmitriew, Carlton Coleman, Samantha Ward, Scott Stoddard, Mike Ornelaz and Sabrina Castro) - Nominated
• Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series (Andrew S. Eisen) - Nominated
• Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series (Dana E. Glauberman and Dylan Firshein) - Nominated
• Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series (Jeff Seibenick) - Nominated
• Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation (David Acord, Matthew Wood, Bonnie Wild, James Spencer, Richard Quinn, Richard Gould, Stephanie McNally, Ryan Rubin, Ronni Brown and Jana Vance) - Winner
• Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation (Shawn Holden, Bonnie Wild and Chris Fogel) - Winner
• Outstanding Special Visual Effects (Richard Bluff, Jason Porter, Abbigail Keller, Hayden Jones, Hal Hickel, Roy Cancino, John Rosengrant, Enrico Damm and Landis Fields) - Winner
• Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Drama Series, Limited Series or Movie (Ryan Watson) - Winner

(Click here to view more awards for "The Mandalorian".)

Videos

TVSins - Everything Wrong With The Mandalorian "Pilot"

TVSins - Everything Wrong With The Mandalorian "The Child"

How It Should Have Ended - How The Mandalorian Should Have Ended (Season One)

Screen Junkies - Honest Trailers | The Mandalorian

"Mrs. America"

 Was this show meant for you to be uncomfortable? Because I was uncomfortable the whole time. I blame my school and my educators for this. There was so much that I didn't know about this time period. I remember the 2008 election very well, and the way news anchors kept talking about Hillary Clinton, I thought Clinton was the first woman ever to run for president, and my teachers didn't correct me. But this show has a different message: former U.S. Representative Shirley Chisholm became the first black woman to run for president in 1972. At first glance, you would think that the show forgot about Victoria Woodhull (1872), Belva Ann Lockwood (1884), Gracie Allen (1940), and Margaret Chase Smith (1964). But of course the key word is "black". 

Also growing up in school, I was lead to believe that all women were unanimously for ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment. Clearly that wasn't true. Phyllis Schlafly, a woman who has the ability to be hated and rooted for at the same time, leads the charge to STOP the ERA from passing. I had a hell of a time searching for the complete text of the amendment, but here it is below:

SECTION 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

SECTION 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

SECTION 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

This seems simple enough. Organizations like NOW campaigned equal rights to all women: equal pay, health benefits, protection of lesbians, gay marriage, proper abortion care, a lot of this stuff we have now. But Schlafly and the rest of the STOP ERA were stuck on abortion, lesbians raising our children and drafting daughters into the military. The Vietnam War was winding down at the time, but the tensions against the war held on. I'm not sure what their argument truly was. They are proud Daughters of the American Revolution. Do they understand what women did in the Revolution? A woman gave up her petticoat so Paul Revere could muffle the oars on his boat as he sneaked across the Charles River. Molly Pitcher was one of the many women bringing water to thirsty soldiers at many battles. At one point, when her husband was wounded, she loaded a cannon herself. And let's not forget Betsy Ross sewed our nation's flag. There are plenty of women who want to serve their country, and plenty of men who don't. Why would you deny a woman's right to be drafted. Actually from what I understood, the Gulf Wars and the war in Afghanistan, after 9/11, we had so many volunteers that a draft wasn't necessary. 

A woman has the choice to do what she wants with her life. You chose the life of the housewife, and that's fine, but why are you forcing hundreds of thousands of woman to choose the same lifestyle? You can't support women and condemn them at the same time; that doesn't make sense. That's like talking trash about your favorite celebrity while wearing a T-shirt with their face on it. Same goes to working women. I ask that you support women in whatever they decide to do. Everyday, I question why supporting women at all. It's hard to pick a side when everyone is at each other's throats. And all to stop three sentences from ruling the land. And by the way, if the ERA had passed on time, you know Schlafly and the STOP ERA would take full advantage of it. 

Abortion. Why would you force a woman to keep a baby she doesn't want? You may say that it was her fault she wasn't careful. But what if she's 12 years old, and her father raped her? Would you still force her to carry the baby to term in her fragile body? Pregnancy is dangerous, always has been; women have died giving birth. Don't get me wrong, I don't like killing babies either, but I want women to have the choice. Like if it was mine, I will present my argument. I'd want to raise the child, but if she says she wants an abortion, I'll try to fight, but in the end it's her decision.

One of the biggest issues I had with the show is the men. I get it that times were different, but clearly these women were going places, so the men need to be supportive no matter what. They played like they were supportive, but Fred Schlafly didn't take it seriously that his wife could have won U.S. Representative, Jill Ruckelshaus' husband was vetted without her knowledge, Marc is pissed that Brenda is experiencing lesbianism, President Jimmy Carter fires Bella Abzug from the National Advisory Commission for Women, and newly-elected President Reagan dismisses Phyllis' chance of a Cabinet position. It seems that men think this is a game for women to play. I'm sure a lot of those sick bastards got hard watching women talk politics. Many of them in the show say that's why they married their wives: their wit. But they still attempt to lay down the law that men rule the country. Really the men just lit a fire under the ass of women, which will be the men's undoing.

On the other side of the issue, Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan lead the charge to ratify the ERA. The two clash one different versions of the same opinion. Friedan appeared to feel ancient to the new generation of feminists where she was basically saying, "Death to all Men!", and Steinem is trying to gather allies on all sides to push the movement forward. Steinem also clashes with Abzug on politics. Azbug, a former U.S. Senator knows the political game too well, and she struggles to relay that to Steinem, who wants to charge in guns blazing. It was a perfect balance to see a seasoned member of our government try to reason with a youngin' wanting change now.

One of the most compelling stories in this series is Alice Macray, Phyllis' right hand woman in the STOP ERA movement. Over the course of the series, she acts as a pipeline from Phyllis to the other women, but she eventually begins to question her beliefs, especially one drunk night at the National Women's Convention. She discovers a woman blessing the Eucharist, a God-fearing Christian woman who is a feminist, and that lesbians are not all bad. Her arc ends with her having a job, and that she feels empowered that she doesn't have to ask her husband for pin money.

This was a wonderful series that completely changed my perspective on several things. It's a shame it had to end, but I await more films and TV shows like it. 

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Released on FX On Hulu: April 15 - May 27, 2020
Rating: TV-MA
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Uzo Aduba, Elizabeth Banks, Kayli Carter, Ari Graynor, Melanie Lynskey, Margo Martindale, John Slattery, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tracey Ullman, Sarah Paulson
Directors: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Amma Asante, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Janicza Bravo
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
IMDb Score: 8.2/10 (Average)

Awards

Primetime Emmy Awards

• Outstanding Limited Series - Nominated
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie (Cate Blanchett) - Nominated
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie (Uzo Aduba) - Winner
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie (Margo Martindale) - Nominated
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie (Tracey Ullman) - Nominated
• Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special (Tanya Barfield) - Nominated

Creative Primetime Emmy Awards

• Outstanding Casting for a Limited Series, Movie or Special (Carmen Cuba & Robin Cook) - Nominated
• Outstanding Period Costumes (Bina Daigeler, Erin Byrne, Bettina Seifert, Erika Larner, Mila Hermanovski and Eileen Kennedy) - Nominated
• Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score) (Kris Bowers) - Nominated
• Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited Series or Movie (Robert Komatsu) - Nominated

(Click here to view more awards for "Mrs. America".)