Deborah Harter Williams

Jun 2015 20

TV Wrinkles – New and Old

2015 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, Mysteryrat's Maze, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

Jane and Lily as seniors? Seriously funny.
The success of the Netflix show Grace and Frankie starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin might have audiences rethinking the nature of old on television. Comedy is a time-honored way to challenge assumptions and G & F take on age and same sex marriage right out of the box. Add on interracial adoption and any number of semi-sacred cows with just enough I-can’t-believe-they-said-that to remind us that we’re not watching your grandmother’s broadcast television.

May 2015 16

TV Flashback – Science Chicks Fifty Years of Women TV Scientists

2015 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

There is currently a big push to get girls interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and creating positive role models on television looks like one way to do it. The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media has an oft repeated principle “If you can see it you can be it.” Here are women scientists you might have seen on television over the past 50 years.

Mar 2015 21

Who’s Your Favorite Marple?

2015 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, Movies, Mysteryrat's Maze, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

Jane Marple has been portrayed onscreen by a cadre of fine actresses. The world has been blessed with a veritable, murmuration of Marples. Or would that be a murder of Marples? Or perhaps a marvelization of Marples, because it is quite marvelous to have so many characterizations to choose from.

Feb 2015 21

2015 March of Crime, New shows in March: Cops, Computers & Consequences

2015 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, Mysteryrat's Maze, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

Sunday March 1 10:00 p.m. - Battle Creek - CBS
Tagline - Not Your Ordinary Cop Show
Mismatched law enforcement partners are nothing new, but this version takes a unique geographical turn and lands in Battle Creek, Michigan. It’s referred to as a “vibrant city of 50,000” but the local cops are scraping the bottom of their budget, which means that the battery in the Taser may or may not work when needed.

Jan 2015 24

10 Great African-American Actors & Crime Solvers: In Honor Of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday

2015 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, Mysteryrat's Maze, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

1968, The Mod Squad, a trio of undercover “hippie” cops, “One black, one white, one blonde.”
Williams played Linc Hayes with an Afro and dignity. What could have been played for laughs turned out to be groundbreaking for its black co-lead and the socially relevant stories of drugs, race, and the Vietnam War.
From 2003-2007 Williams solved crimes on a much quieter level as Philby Cross, ex-government spy on Hallmark’s Mystery Woman.

Dec 2014 13

Longmire Resurrection

2014 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, Mysteryrat's Maze, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

It’s a new day in Absaroka County, with the old sheriff still in town but coming from another network.
Television is fickle. The show that is the darling one season gets thrown on the slagheap the next. Even the highly rated are not immune; Murder She Wrote, as many of us remember, was cancelled while still in the top 10. Latest on the chopping block—the A&E mystery/western, Longmire.

Nov 2014 22

Sleuthing – Family Style This Thanksgiving

2014 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, Mysteryrat's Maze, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday each of us with our memories of family togetherness (however wonderful or painful they might be), I thought I’d take a look at fictional families who solve mysteries together. You might consider whom you might want at your dinner table.

Oct 2014 11

The Comics Hit TV This October

2014 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, Fantasy & Fangs, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

Finding myself discouraged and fed-up with the new dramatic shows that are unrealistic and the reality shows that are overly dramatic, I’m casting my net farther afield and checking out the trend in shows based on comics.

Sep 2014 20

Five September TV Premieres to Watch

2014 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, Mysteryrat's Maze, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

Fed up with the tepid summer offerings? Already binged through all your faves? Well, get those DVRs revved up. New shows are coming.
Here’s what we’re checking out.

Aug 2014 23

Scandal – Political Thriller Features Three Emmy Acting Nominees

2014 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, Mysteryrat's Maze, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

In cased you somehow missed Scandal, it’s twisty and dark and set in Washington, D.C. The drama orbits around Olivia Pope, political fixer and campaign strategist. Her “gladiators in suits” are extremely loyal to her, as she has rescued each of them at one point from a personal crisis. Oh and by the way, she’s having an affair with the President.