Sunday, May 31, 2020

Centennial (A 12 Part Miniseries 1979) PART THREE

(WARNING!!! SPOILERS TO PREVIOUS EPISODES INVOLVED!!!)
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CHAPTER 3: THE WAGON AND THE ELEPHANT

Our story takes us East, to the Pennsylvania Mennonite community and young Levi Zendt. Falsely accused of sexual assault, Levi refuses to abide by the punishment decreed and heads west with his friend Elly and the two are soon married with a child on the way. They are headed toward Oregon to start their new lives together, joining a full train with other travelers; Oliver Seccombe (Timothy Dalton), Captain Maxwell Mercy (Chad Everett) and trail leader Sam Purchas (the ever menacing Donald Pleasance).

The story here takes an interesting turn because so much of the series has, so far, depended so much on our relationship with Pasquinell. But Levi Zendt steps into familiar shoes with a very different journey and approach to life. Where Pasquinel came at life with passion, Zendt is steady with compassion and warmth. Where Pasquinel faced things head and faces the mountains, Levi allows the mountains to seep into him. His road converges at a trading post with McKeag, with whom he will develop a stronger bond as the episode continues.

Of all the characters in Centennial, Levi Zendt has always been my favorite. Gregory Harrison is great in the role, but as an adult I can't quite speak to the quality that brought Levi to life in my young eyes. He was modest, he was secure, and in a later episode he would be described as a "serious man", and none of that usually speaks to a quality that most young men would gravitate toward. But, more than anything, he was also reasonable and courageous and he was just "good"... which appealed to me then and appeals to me now.

It's important to note that this episode acts as an anchoring point for several of the characters who would have larger roles to play in the series as time wears on. We find out that Maxwell Mercy, for example, is the husband to Lissette Pasquinel (The "white" daughter of our series initial lead). His struggle to balance the two worlds of the Native and the Settlers will carry through the next few episodes as well, including strong interactions with the Pasquinel Brothers.

3.5 out of 5, as this is the most episodic of the series so far without a true conclusion- it leaves our main protagonist in a bit of a cliff-hanger and urges continued watching with the fourth in the series.

Thursday, May 28, 2020

Centennial (A 12 Part Miniseries 1979) PART TWO

(WARNING!!! SPOILERS TO EPISODE ONE INVOLVED!!!)
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THE YELLOW APRON

The second episode of Centennial picks up where the first left off, with Pasquinel having married both the daughter of his partner in St. Louis and the daughter of Lame Beaver. Our courier Quebecker is caught between two worlds. And it's that division that forces the story to focus on those who are affected by this division the most.

Clay Basket (played beautifully and brilliantly by Barbara Carrera) is a woman torn between two men that she both loves and respects. Pasquinel, who has given her two strong sons in Jacques and Marcel, and the golden-bearded McKeag, with whom she has always held a special affection. The hope for gold and the free life in the frontier brings her husband back to her time and again.

Image result for Barbara carrera Centennial
Lise Pasquinel (the always fantastic Salley Kellerman) draws the trader back to the "White Man's Civilization", such as it is. She raises a daughter and keeps the home fires burning with love for a man she knows she cannot keep in one place.


Image result for Sally Kellerman Centennial

And, trapped between both worlds is McKeag. He sees the pain and anguish that Pasquinel leaves behind in his desire to have everything and live without compromise. But when the trader tries to bring both worlds together, it leads to disaster that will seep through the series for generations. It drives McKeag away and the Scotsman lives alone for years before finally returning to civilization with a Jamboree where tribes, mountain men, trappers, and traders all converge without need to travel to the big city.

Running at just over an hour and a half, the second episode in the long-spanning series expands and starts to show us the rippling effect that men like Pasquinel and Lame Beaver will have on other characters as they are introduced and take larger parts in the narrative. We also see the corrupting influence of wealth on good people, we see the growing encroachment of european settlers, and we see the tribal divisions that were so brutally exploited. But we also see the efforts of good people to deal in good faith and with well-intentions. But the importance of this episode is to show us how deeply some scars can run, how deeply it can hurt, and how important it is that we find a way to heal.

9 out of 10 and again, a definite must-see.

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Centennial (A 12 Part Miniseries 1979) PART ONE

Based on the novel by James A. Michener, "Centennial" was an incredible television event that featured an all-star cast and over 26 hours of Television. It aired on NBC in 1979, from October through February. Over the next few days (Maybe weeks), I will be re-watching the series in it's entirety and trying to share my thoughts on the film some 41 years after.

I first watched the series around 1985-86 or so... it had been in the video collection of a family member who was very enthusiastic about the show and its characters. She allowed me to come over and watch over the course of some two weeks at a time when I was struggling in my own life. The series helped me get through a rough patch after a particularly traumatic experience. So the series has always held a warm spot in my memory.

EPISODE ONE: Only the Rocks Live Forever

The title is based on an Arapaho saying that the young Lame Beaver is told when his father dies in battle. Some narration provides explanation to the tradition of "counting coup" and that Lame Beaver's father had tied himself to a stake while in war with the enemy Pawney tribe. The young man grows up to be a leader (Michael Ansara) and a great warrior, and it isn't long until he meets a French fur trader named Pasquinel (Robert Condrad). The story weaves through the relationship between these two men and the land that will one day become the town of "Centennial".

Pasquinel is a veritable force of nature and pure strength of will. Conrad commands the screen and we are immediately spellbound, but it isn't until the introduction of his future partner that we start to see his darker side in contrast to that of McKeag. As the first episode follows the two men building a fur trade empire with the aid of a local silversmith investor (Raymond Burr), it cuts with the slice of life experiences of an aging Lame Beaver as he strives for a warriors death against the enemy Pawney tribe. Both stories divest and converge in a gut wrenching finale that foreshadows the dark and light of the American Frontier to come.

Alexander McKeag is played well by Richard Chaberlain, who acts as a sort of surrogate for the audience's experience in learning about the frontier, the various tribes, and the ruthless ambition of men like Pasquinel. Despite the deep guilt McKeag feels for a past transgression, he is largely an innocent and inexperienced man in the world. Without Pasquinel, he would be dead. But how long can the Scottish immigrant exist under the swagger and brass of his best friend?

As the first episode draws to a close (with over two and a half hours of runtime, three hours during it's original broadcast with commercials), there are certainly a lot of unanswered questions and the audience is left cold with expectation for the continued story of both Alexander McKeag and the man only ever known as Pasquinel.

A perfect 10 out of 10,


Sunday, May 3, 2020

Blood Quantum on Shudder

Gory. Brutal.

The title of the film is taken from a Colonial term for the measurement to determine one's indigenous status. In this film the term twists in this zombie film where the members of a distant tribe are rendered immune to the disease, but are quickly overwhelmed by the survivors and the undead both. The Reservation's Sheriff tries to maintain control while his two sons are divided by their approach to the crisis.

This film goes for the jugular from the outset, the film opening in the outset of the crisis with a gruesome exhibition of guts and blood. The film has a lot to say about Colonialism- Too much to unpack in one review, but the film isn't subtle about any of it. But it never allows the message to overwhelm the absolute horror of the story itself.

8 out of 10, strong recommend.