A TEACHER on FX and HULU
Jeri Jacquin
Currently on FX and HULU from writer/director Hannah Fidell is a limited series story of an educator and the line she crosses being A TEACHER.
Claire Wilson (Kate Mara) married to Matt (Ashley Zukerman) is starting a job at Westerbrook in Austin, Texas as an English teacher and meets new friend Kathryn (Marielle Scott). She seems happy to be starting something new and exciting as well as trying to start a family with Matt. Eric Walker (Nick Robinson) is a popular kid hanging out with friends Logan (Shane Harper) and Josh (Dylan Schmid) when they see Claire. Eric hangs back and they talk about what he wants from school.
Eric heads over to Logans and sees ex-girlfriend Alison (Camila Perez) but they do not have much of a chance to reconnect because the police are busting up the party. Giving a statement to Officer Nate (Adam Thompson), Eric confides that that he cannot call his Mom and asks that he call Claire to set things right. To help him refocus on school, Eric and Claire visit her alma mater and Logan’s older brother Cody entices them to party.
Dealing with the pressure of good grades and getting into college, Eric also helps single Mom Sandra (Rya Kihlstedt) with two young brothers. Needed at home, there comes a moment where he makes a decision about his family that puts his priorities in question.
Enjoying each other’s company as student and teacher, Eric crosses the line and now Claire is conflicted about what to do. Focusing on her marriage, there is tension between the couple when they learn that to have a family, they would need to explore the option of an invitro pregnancy. Adding to the tension is Claire seeing Eric at the dance and confronting him about missing their tutoring meeting.
Now, the line is about to be crossed and both of them turn to lying, deception and it will tear their worlds apart.
Mara as Claire is a woman who believes that starting over at a new school is also a new beginning for she and husband Matt. Seeing the lines becoming blurred with her student, she tries to pull back but can not seem to control herself which means she cannot control anything around her. Pulling in every direction to justify her actions, Mara gives her character moments of likeability then the reality of what is happening screams out.
Robinson as Eric is a young man who thinks he knows what he wants. Trusting in the relationship, he does not see further down the road to the ramifications or the damage that is being done. Robinson gives us a wild young man who wants what he wants as young men his age think, its what comes later that he could have never imagined.
Scott as friend Kathryn is also a teacher at Westbrook and unwittingly becomes the person that Claire needs in her life. The problem with that is friendship should be a two-way street and not filled with deception.
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A TEACHER is a story of betrayal most of all as Claire is in a position to know right from wrong and chooses a course of destructive action. Eric is a young man who trusts Claire and decides that his feelings are more important than the fact she happens to be married and his teacher.
Claire is absolutely responsible for her behavior and the broken trust but let’s not give Eric a free pass in this all. Clearly, he is old enough to know what is wrong as shown by his response after kissing Claire and once the line is crossed – everything becomes blurred.
Once the word is out, that is when the destructive path becomes blurred again. Even the face-to-face meeting between them is agonizing and gruesome to watch. As with most affairs, the consequences are far reaching past Claire and Eric and seeing the pain it causes families, friendships and the education system.
There has never been a story about a teacher and student affair that has not caused a stir and the biggest story of 1997 was teacher Mary Kay Letourneau. Having an affair and a child with her student, it opened the door to other stories of teachers breaking the trust of students and their families.
FX takes a bold risk to make the story just as writer Hannah Fidell is equally bold in directing this cast. HULU brings each episode to streaming which is a wild ride for binge watchers looking for drama, tragedy and tension.
In the end – this is what happens when a line of trust is crossed!
We Have All Come to Love the STARZ Series OUTLANDER
Jeri Jacquin
Coming to Bluray from STARZ is Season Five of the original massively successful series OUTLANDER.
We have come a long way with Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) and his love Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and now they are in the Americas! Starting Season Five you know there is going to be intrigue, problems, dealing with time travel, love, enemies and everything else in the not-so-civilized world as the Revolutionary War comes closer and closer to Frasers Ridge.
Brianna (Sophie Skelton) and Roger (Richard Rankin) are finally tying the knot in a wedding that brings tears to both Claire and Jamie, happy to be a part of their day. Surrounded by friends and townsfolk, Jamie is pulled aside by Governor Tryon (Tim Downie) who is adamant about wanting to track down Murtagh Fitzgibbons (Duncan Lacroix).
It doesn’t sit well with Jamie, but he has to play the game in order to keep his friend safe. On the road with Lt. Knox (Michael Xavier), Jamie does what he can to put up a good front and be trusted but things are getting even more complicated. The Regulators bring Claire on the march with Jamie and Roger trying to raise their own militia that will be loyal to the right person.
Back at Fraser Ridge, Claire is desperately needed as Jamie sends him home with Roger as an escort. Roger takes this as meaning that he doesn’t trust him to help with the militia but does as he’s asked. Jamie continues to Hillsborough only to discover once he gets there that Governor Tryon is muddle up everything with an unusual answer to the Regulators.
Returning home, Claire and Jaime attend Aunt Jocasta’s wedding (Maria Doyle Kennedy) and it is there that Jaime learns of what Tryon plans for the Regulators. Marching to Alamance Creek, Jaime asks Roger to find Fitzgibbons and tell him what is happening. Finding him, Roger explains everything, but Fitzgibbons is not swayed from his decision to fight, even when he knows the outcome.
The battle happens quickly and before Roger can get away, he is caught between the two sides. That will cost him one of the most horrific events to happen in his life. Returning to Frasers Ridge, Brianna is having a difficult time dealing with what happened to Roger because he refused to speak to anyone about it. Also, it is clear that Stephen Bonnet (Ed Speleers) is back and he has plans for Brianna as well. But when someone Roger truly needs arrives; everyone is thrilled to see Ian (John Bell) once again.
Out hunting, Jamie is with Roger surrounding a buffalo when he is bitten by a venomous snake. Unable to find the others to help, Roger must get Jamie to Claire but even when he does, she is not sure she can save him. This forces Roger and Bri to once again consider returning to their own time. Now that they have their son Jemmy, it is clear that there are dangers with no medications. Ian takes them but something unexpected happens once they reach the stones!
A fire breaks out at the still but what Jaime does not know is that it is a diversion and Claire is kidnapped and treated brutally because of a medical article she wrote helping women. Lionel Brown (Ned Dennehy) has never liked Claire and means to show it. Jamie, Roger, Ian and others immediately track her down and bring her home, but not before the damage is done.
They all must get through because the Revolutionary War is almost at their door!
Heughan as Jamie Fraser has certainly made a career out of being the gorgeous, smart, loving, dedicated and forthright Scotsman. What makes his character so fantastic is his constant dedication to Claire no matter what is happening around them. She comes first in his life and every decision he makes it based on what is best for his family then everything on Frasers Ridge. This season we saw what happens when you hurt his family and it is not pretty but its effective. The times called for every move he made and Gabaldon writes him beautifully.
Balfe as Claire does not mince words when it comes to helping her patients. Yes, she pushes the time travel and historic meddling a bit but cannot exactly let people be hurt if she can help them. Not everyone sees it that way and that is what comes to be the crashing in the finale. Claire is also like Jamie in that her man is everything to her and no one or nothing gets in the way of that or her family. Having Brianna, Roger and Jemmy with them gives her such comfort and yet she knows they might not stay. This is definetly Balfe’s season to shine.
Skelton as Brianna is trying to have a life on Frasers Ridge. There are moments where she talks to Roger about returning to their time but there is something constantly holding her back. Skelton finds her character growing mentally stronger as well and beginning to understand more and more Claire and Jamie’s reason for being together and the life they have made. If it were me, I would see the struggle as well with going. There is also a scene where I saw the “James Fraser” side of Brianna come out and it was well done.
Rankin as Roger certainly has a rough season! He finally marries Brianna, they start creating a life of their own, but Roger believes that with his son, safety is everything and that includes medication and a less violent life in the future. It takes returning to the stones for him to realize that perhaps he is over thinking things and appreciate where he is and who he is with. I like Roger and this season he gets his chance to show what the professor side of him is made of!
Lacroix as Murtagh Fitzgibbons is such an amazing part of Jamie’s life and has been for so many seasons. Finally, he sort of breaks away to find a place of his own in the world by helping others fight against the rich taking from the poor. He has plenty of practice in Scotland in how to deal with those who think they are better, and it is coming in handy in the United States. The problem is the British don’t take to kindly to it!
Maria Doyle Kennedy as Aunt Jocasta (and may I say I am a huge fan!) may be blind but she sees everything perfectly, well almost everything. She still has a few surprises up her sleeve and not a good surprise waiting for her. She might not always say the right thing when it comes to Claire or even Roger, but she is a dedicated Aunt to Jamie.
Bell as Ian returns to Frasers Ridge with a story, he is not willing to share with anyone. It is clear that something pains him deeply and as only a few tidbits are told; it leaves the rest of us waiting till season six hoping there is something else to his melancholia. His return brings a strong arm with it as he tells it like it is to his Uncle Jamie and defends Claire with everything in him.
Speleers as Stephen Bonnet and there pretty much isn’t anything nice we can say about his character. He’s back, causing trouble and plotting against Brianna in the worst way possible. You might think there is a moment there where maybe he’s just misunderstood…nahhhhhh…he’s as bad as we all think he is! Well done Mr. Speleers!
Shout out to Chris Larkin as Richard Brown and Ned Dennehy as Lionel Brown. I wasn’t sure which one I wanted to knock out more but by the end of the season it was clear that Lionel Brown needed something extra to remind him of who he is messing with! That’s all I have to say about that.
Other cast include: Cesar Domboy as Fergus, Lauren Lyle as Marsali, Colin McFarlane as Ulysses, Kyle Rees as John Meyers,
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment encompasses motion picture production for television, digital content and theater releases. The studios include Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Stage 6 Films and Sony Picture Classics. To see what is coming to theaters and to home entertainment please visit www.sonypictures.com.
The Bluray includes the episodes The Fiery Cross, Between Two Fires, Free Will, The Company We Keep, Perpetual Adoration, Better to Marry than Burn, The Ballad of Roger Mac, Famous Last Words, Monsters and Heroes, Mercy Shall Follow Me, Journeycake and Never My Love.
It also includes 4 exclusive OUTLANDER UNTOLD Bonus Scenes along with Deleted Scenes, The Heart of the Frasers, Expanding the World: Sets & Costumes, Episode commentaries, Blooper Reel, Strength in Action: The Women of OUTLANDER, Through Fire & Hell: The Finale, “Flowers of the Forest” Lyric Video and At Home with Adso.
There is also a Collector’s Edition Bluray set that will include a compact disc of the season 5 soundtrack, a 28-page digibook, and an excerpt from Diana Gabaldon’s upcoming ninth OUTLANDER novel, Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone, all within premium collector packaging.
I have been an OUTLANDER fan since the very first episode aired. The series has taken fans to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows and dialed in every human emotion possible and mixed in a little mysticism along the way. The story around Jamie and Claire is such a unique one that not having the series would be a shame because Balfe and Heughan are our Claire and Jamie. No one else will do – ever.
The chemistry between these two actors has held us captive for five seasons, and I think it will hold us for a few more. This isn’t a candy-roses-googly eyed love story; OUTLANDER is much more than that. It’s a leap into history, it is a romance novel come to life in ways we couldn’t have imagined, and it is a story of human endurance pushed past everything inconceivable only to come out the other side more determined.
That is Claire and Jaime because, and let us be honest, there are things that have happened to this couple that would buckle most of us. Even when they are separated, there is something that draws that back across time to finish what they started – taking us on a journey with them and we are more than alright with that.
This is a great chance to binge season five as OUTLANDER arrives on Bluray!
In the end – they stand for all!
TRAVEL CHANNEL Brings New Series SHOCK DOCS
Jeri Jacquin
Now on the Travel Channel with executive producer Tom Jennings for all your spooky needs comes a new series that looks at true horror stories in America with SHOCK DOCS.
The series begins with names that are familiar to most who love the paranormal with DEVIL’S ROAD: The True Story of Ed and Lorraine Warren. If those names seem familiar, then let me refresh why! A story came to theatres in 2013 with THE CONJURING telling the story of a family dealing with a dark presence in their home calling in Ed and Lorraine Warren and bringing movie goers into the chaos. Also, the film ANNABELLE in 2014, THE CONJURING 2 in 2016, ANABELLE Creations in 2017 and THE NUN in 2018.
That is not where their story began however but instead in becoming paranormal investigators in 1952 when doing such things was not even heard of. In their 50-years doing investigations, they claim to have dealt with thousands of cases. Ed was the demonologist while Lorraine was the extremely sensitive clairvoyant while also trying to have a normal life with daughter Judy.
The word began to spread of what this couple could do speaking on the paranormal and preternatural worlds but also created techniques still used in investigations today. I think many of the paranormal investigators know who to thank for such things as advanced electromagnetic devices!
This two-hour special delves into the 1970s and 1980s and the television show led by their son-in-law Tony Spera and never-before-heard audio of Ed Warren interviewing with a poltergeist case. Spera also provided access to footage of the series "Seekers of the Supernatural" as the couple explain their work in more detail.
The episode shows the many famous cases that the Warren's attended to such as Amityville in 1975 working with George and Kathy Lutz and the demons that overtook their home. Travelling to Enfield in London where a family was being terrorized in their home. The case of 'Not Guilty by Reason of Demonic Possession' in 1981 of Arne Johnson.
When a funeral home is claimed to be filled with demons, Ed and Lorraine Warren are there in Southington, Connecticut and author Ray Garton writes a book that later finds itself in the film THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT.
This is only a small portion of the years that Ed and Lorraine Warren spent in their career with books, speaking engagements, cases and training others to continue the work they found so important.
Travel Channel knows how to start off their series and the Warren's story is the best place to start. Each installment is going to take viewers into true American horror stories and the history of these best-documented paranormal encounters. There are audio and video stories that share the terrifying tales of evil. Two of the episodes are AMITYVILLE HORROR HOUSE and THE EXORCISM OF ROLAND DOE.
"Travel Channel fans have an insatiable appetite for the classic cases that even the paranormal investigators revere," said Matthew Butler, general manager of the Travel Channel. "In these 'shockumentaries' we start at the beginning and explore why these places and cases remain the most famous - and the most haunted in the country."
The Travel Channel is for the bold, daring and spontaneous; those adventurers who embrace the thrill of the unexpected; those risk-takers who aren't afraid of a little mystery; if you're up for anything, down for whatever, and above all, love great stories, journey on to Travel Channel. We are more than you expected and everything you did not know you were looking for. Reaching more than 79 million homes, Travel Channel is the world's leading travel media brand. To find out more please visit www.travelchannel.com.
The two-hour SHOCK DOCS about Ed and Lorraine Warren is filled with information that I did not even know. I knew of their connection with The Conjuring Universe but no idea about Amityville or the other cases they investigated. That is what makes this installment so interesting, it gives the viewer a deeper look inside the story of these two remarkable paranormal investigators.
I am a huge fan of the Travel Channel and it started when I discovered the series GHOST ADVENTURES many, many years ago. I was intrigued by the GAC and the places they visited and the things that made the hairs on my arms stand up. I continue to check in on the boys (gotta love a DVR) so when I learned there was a new series from the Travel Channel, well, I had to see for myself.
It is true, this series is for those who are 'up for anything and down for whatever and love a great story' because that is what they do - bring it! I cannot wait for the next episode, especially the story in Amityville because, come on, who does not know a little about that and who doesn't want to know a whole lot more?
Tune in to the Travel Channel for SHOCK DOCS and the first special DEVIL'S ROAD: The True Story of Ed and Lorraine Warren showing now. Oh, and dim the lights because that makes everything spooky so much sweeter to enjoy.
Don't say I didn't warn you!
