jaybizman

From IMDB: "As Alfred the Great defends his kingdom from Norse invaders, Uhtred - born a Saxon but raised by Vikings - seeks to claim his ancestral birthright."

I've read all the novels by Bernard Cornwell on which these five series are based.

The time is around 800 AD when 'England' was but a dream of King Alfred of Wessex; in fact there were many Kings in Briton. Some not even British, but 'Danes' or Vikings. Alfred's dream was to unite the Country under one King (him of course.)

Enter a young Dane/Briton by the name of Uhtred of Bebbingburg in which today is Northumberland - N. E. England. In the novels Uhtred was much larger than our hero, but he is played well throughout these five series.

Uhtred's dream is to reclaim his rightful land and title, stolen by a relative and he joins King Arthur who promises to help, in exchange for his fealty.

If you like battles galore, sword fights, cleaved limbs and hot wimmin, then this is for you. The Danes were unbeatable, being masters of the 'Shield Wall' and it's interesting to me that the Ancient Greeks used a similar tactic 'The Phalanx' in movies like '300' or '300 Spartans', Ancient Romans used 'The Turtle', nineteenth century British troops used 'The Square' in the same way.

Guess it's true, history does repeat itself.

So for a rollicking good time, watch The Last Kingdom. Recommended.

From IMDB: "Veering off course from his preset path, a track star follows his own pace and heart for the first time after a film translator steps into his life."

Stars: Si-wan Yim, Shin Se-Kyung, Sooyoung Choi, Tae-Oh-Kang.

Sixteen x One Hour Episodes. OK for all to view.

I watched this K-Drama purely to see the acting chops of one of Korea's most popular actresses: Shin-Se-Kyung "Ms. Oh." She caught my eye when I saw "Rookie Historian", where she played the part of a female Historian - run down by all the males, yet she was smarter, wittier and prettier than all.

In 'Run On,' Shin reprises her persona as "Ms. Oh" a translator who writes subtitles for movies. Still the same acerbic and cutting wit, who doesn't take BS from anyone. Feisty and fun. "Ms. Oh" falls for a wealthy National Team runner, much to the dislike of his father, a typical country bureaucrat - who wields an iron hand and his word is Law. So he thinks.

Second subplot involves the gorgeous and tall (for Korea) - Ms. Seo, who's sarcastic wit and put downs are breathless to behold, until she meets a "College Student" painter, "Mr. Lee." You can guess the rest.

As usual in 'hierarchal' Korea, wealthy look down on 'peasants' and older siblings and parents must be obeyed; when not, there are consequences.

There is a good supporting cast, and IMO, 16 episodes is a perfect length to flesh out the personalities and insecurities of the protagonists - give it a go, I believe you'll be pleasantly surprised. Easy 9/10 from me.

From IMDB: "A desperate banker, a Haitian-American gang lord and a Cuban-American hacker are forced to work together to unwittingly create their version of the American dream - organized crime 2.0."

Stars: Adam Brody, Edi Gathegi, Otmara Marrero, Ron Perlman, Mira Sorvino.

Three Series, ten episodes each. Probably - TV MA.

This show is so much more than a bunch of people who are thrown together to create an Internet Tech StartUp.

Miami (The Magic City) is shown, warts and all. In one area 'South Beach', you have the rich and famous, in Little Haiti you have the opposite - drug dealing and despair. The Cubans were let in by the US Gov't, the Haitians were asked to return to their homeland, many didn't - now their resources are limited, and crime is rampant in their community.

Enter "Izzy" a Stanford dropout, who is a programming whiz and hacker, who's family is from Cuba.

She's working on an Internet business that could 'change the world.' Unfortunately, she's taken advantage of by an Internet Titan, backed by The Russian Mob, who kicks her out of her own business.

Enter, a crooked FBI Agent who blackmails money launderers into given him 50% of their ill gotten gains or go to Jail, who wants a piece of the action.

Next is a preppy guy - banker Nick, 'South Beach' who is always looking for business opportunities and financiers, and together Izzy, Ronnie (Haitian Crime Lord) and Nick - try to create a noble High Tech biz.

So many obstacles are put in their way: Nefarious businessmen, Russian hitmen - and finally, a mysterious former CIA Black Ops Agent, who is not who she represents herself to be - played by Mira Sorvino.

Ron Perlman enters the fray in Series Two - and he makes his presence known, providing seed money and advice. Ron steals every scene he's in.

All in all, I'd say this was one of the most innovative and interesting TV Series that I've watched in many a long time. Recommended, and yes - I'm hoping for a Series Four!