How many of you have Netflix? I’m betting a lot of you do. It’s a great service that, for me anyway, allows you to throw caution to the wind when it comes to selecting entertainment DVDs. With Netflix I’ve explored many movies or TV shows I would have flown by without giving a nod at my local Blockbusters store. It’s amazing how many wonderful shows don’t even register a blip on the radar screen in this day of mega-marketing and social networks.
I’d like to tell you about one. The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard is a British import with two DVDs that have three episodes each. These are the only six episodes, so you’ll get the entire series in two little DVDs and six hours of watching. The accents may bother you at first–but the main characters are all understandable, and that’s what counts. Jane Horrocks plays the amazing Mrs. Pritchard, an ordinary woman who becomes Prime Minister under some extraordinary circumstances. Her goal is to get people more interested in politics and to make the people part of the process. She is idealistic, but also practical. As a former store manager–efficient, innovative and beloved by her employees–she thinks she can just go in and clean things up. (You can all see where this is going, can’t you?) Needless to say, she manages to do a lot of good until she has to face her own personal crisis head-on and handle the intrigues within her own cabinet.
Along the way there are a lot of laughs, but it takes a more serious tone throughout the last episodes. All in all, a gem of a series. Good served with popcorn and a gin and tonic. If I were a critic, I’d give it five stars. In fact that’s what I did at Netflix!
Shari Held's Blog 