The basic setup is a 2005 English cop is in an accident and wakes up (or is it a dream?) in 1973. Yes, his 70’s police team is riddled with "chauvinism, police brutality" etc., but it is his being placed into the 70s with a 21st century perspective and how he handles cultural aspects considered acceptable at the time that is the whole point of the series. That said, the time period contrasts are mostly 70s hairstyles, an old car, and dated slang which can easily slip past you if you are not familiar with early 1970s England. I did live in England in the early 70s so I watched the show with more recognition expectation than it actually delivered in the end. It’s okay as a cop show though there’s more guns and action that make it feel like it is catering to a younger audience than those who will remember the 1970s. The ethical differences could be just as easily achieved by transplanting a protagonist from one culture to another in modern times. It wasn’t terribly successful at making me feel I was transplanted back 40 years. It ends up being another cop show and failing a bit in packaging on delivering its ethics message.   posted Jun 14, 2013 at 11:26AM

The reviewers report this as highly rated but I found it so-so. There are multiple incidences of the protagonist doing something that are either plain stupid, or you simply wouldn’t get away with doing. One is okay, but a whole book of them? The last line of the book reveals the great surprise, but frankly I had seen it coming about 500 pages earlier. The book was written in the mid nineties, but still, a Nazi resurgence is a bit old-hat. I was given a copy of this book and normally keep books I am given, but this one will likely end up in a Friends of HCL book sale.   posted Jun 14, 2013 at 1:32AM

This one gets a 2 out of 5 from me. The plots and characters in Cussler’s books are becoming very formulaic. There’s no surprises in this one. The story is mostly one long flashback to Issac Bell’s early detective days sandwiched between two modern day chapters. Consequently it’s no real spoiler that the woman for whom he falls in the story and who is not his wife in the modern day first chapter must have had something prevent her from being his wife now. We also know from the start who the bad guys are. It seems to just be a lot of running from place to place to get to a predictable end with a predictable middle.   posted May 22, 2013 at 10:34AM

Definitely no hero in this one. Even the characters who aren’t trying to manipulate others and are being manipulated seem to generate little sympathy for being so clueless. It has that Jane Austen feel in terms of historical setting without being a romance story as such. Since there isn’t really a protagonist, nor a distinct story with an ending, it may be hard for some to follow through a 2 DVD set. If you’re happy with a story that isn’t a couple-meet-at-the-beginning and couple-marry-and-live-happily-ever-after-at-the-end then it’s kind of fun following it.   posted Feb 28, 2013 at 4:24PM

A prequel to the The Alien series of sci-fi horror/shocker movies and definitely made in the same style. I guess the scientists figure they only have the 124 minutes movie duration in which to achieve exploration of a new planet which explains why they rush into things without consideration or due care. Perhaps the faster they move along the actual drama the more time they have for gore.   posted Feb 28, 2013 at 4:08PM