The Big Bang Theory (2007-2019)

It's the end of an era. The Big Bang Theory represented the last of the great sitcoms by Chuck Lorre. More than that, the end of the long-running reliable network sitcom. The best comedy is now on cable, premium or otherwise. The kind of good-natured, family friendly humor is now in short supply. Modern comedies take more risks that pay off handsomely. But Big Bang Theory was consistently good enough. And it translated quite well in international markets. Jim Parson's Sheldon has achieved icon status in our culture. That is quite the achievement. The finale gave our seven protagonists a fitting end. Way better than the Game of Thrones finale.

Hidden Figures (2016)

Hidden Figures is an excellent, straightforward crowd pleaser. It highlights three African American women at West Area Computers division at NASA who faced challenges at every turn. It is an important story for our generation, hopefully inspiring girls and African Americans and other POCs to enter STEM fields. The story draws attention to the fact that minorities need to be so much more brilliant to achieve the same level as less brilliant white men.  Octavia Spencer's character has the foresight to see that her division is about to become obsolete and being so self-reliant, she teaches herself Fortran. Not only that, she teaches her co-workers Fortran to keep them relevant and indispensable. They need to be that much better to keep their jobs. Also, I think it's hilarious that computer was a human job. From the perspective of 2017, it's funny to think about doing all that math by hand. It sounds like a nightmare.

I thought Pharrell and Hans Zimmer's music was very fitting for the era. The acting is all phenomenal.  Octavia Spencer is the Oscar-nominee, but i think Taraji P. Henson steals the show in her pivotal outburst. And Janelle Monae has had some amazing year.                                            

The Normal Heart (2014)

Unfortunately, I missed the Tony-winning production of The Normal Heart a couple of years back.  In the movie adaptation, Jim Parsons reprises his role, while Mark Ruffalo takes over the lead from Joe Mantello, demoted from his Tony-nominated performance as Ned Weeks to a supporting role.  Julia Roberts plays the role that won Ellen Barkin a Tony, and Matt Bomer plays the role that won John Benjain Hickey a Tony.  As with all of HBO's annual Emmy contenders, the acting is superb, scoring six well-deserved acting nominations.

The Normal Heart tells a very important story about the lack of attention the AIDS epidemic was receiving in the early eighties and I am surprised it had not been adapted for film earlier.  In any case, the issues are still relevant today.

The transition from stage to screen is evident.  There is a lot of grandstanding, soapbox speeches, and furious monologues.  It is very theatrical and though I did not see the play, I'm sure it worked well on stage.  But these theatrical elements are slightly awkward on screen.