PEACEMAKER

Playing "Trivial Pursuit," you will want to remember "Knight Rider" ran on NBC from 1982 through 1986. Reminscing, you may recall long, long ago, in a mostly forgotten era when David Hasselhoff was something more and greater than a punchline, he and a tricked-out Trans-Am had a Friday night crime fighting show. That, too, may be a punchline, but millions of people found the premise plausible, the man and his vehicle just hot enough that they tuned-in to watch hunk and hunk-of-metal defeat nefarious characters of all descriptions. Now that cars do regularly converse with and direct people, the articulate and cultured Trans-Am may not seem so far-fetched after all. Hitmaker Glen Larson produced "Knight Rider," working from a relatively simple backstory: Billionaire Wilton Knight rescues and rehabilitates police detective Michael Long after a near-fatal injury. Equipping the veteran crime fighter with a new face and identity, Knight makes newly re-Christened Michael Knight the first of his agents in the "public justice" initiative he sponsors. The gig come with Knight Industries newest product"”the artificially intelligent Pontiac. And the adventures along the law's margins begin.

"The Old Man" is a television series that premiered on the streaming platform FX on Hulu in November 2021. The show is based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Perry and stars Jeff Bridges as a former CIA agent named Dan Chase who goes into hiding after a failed assassination attempt. After living off the grid for decades, he is forced to come out of hiding when his past catches up with him.

Charlie's Angels first came our way back in 1976 and was a huge hit! Now this "reboot" promises to be at least as successful as the original due to beauty and brilliant writing. Seems these three young, self confident, and self reliant women each have a rather shady past. One was a cat burglar, another was a dirty cop, and the third was booted out of the Marine Corps. But Charlie Townsend (Victor Garber), who just happens to be extremely wealthy and dedicated to fighting crime, helps these young ladies get back on the right track when he hires them to assist in solving crimes. As he directs them over the telephone we never actually see who Charlie is but just hear his voice. Abby Sampson (Rachel Taylor of Grey's Anatomy) is a thief who originally came from a wealthy family. Kate Prince (Annie Lionzeh formerly from General Hospital) is an ex cop who got involved with corruption while with the Miami PD. Then there is Gloria Morales (briefly played by Nadine Velazquez from My Name is Earl before the character is killed off). And once Gloria is killed in a car bombing she is replaced by Eve French (Minka Kelly most recently seen on Parenthood). Eve was close with Gloria and now she loves to race fast cars and chase down bad guys. Look for some well written scripts (Alfred Gough & Miles Millar) as well as plenty of fast action from these beauties!

As a sequel to the popular Spartacus: Blood and Sand, we find Spartacus: Vengeance is more about how and why he became a gladiator. Determined to free the slaves owned by the Roman Republic, the Romans need to stop Spartacus before he does them more damage. And now Spartacus, himself a former Thracian slave, has a huge decision to make which is whether to help free the slaves or seek vengeance on those who condemned his own wife into slavery then death. Starring as Spartacus is Liam McIntyre from Neighbours and The Pacific, Peter Mensah (Avatar, Tears of the Sun) is trusted friend and former trainer of gladiators Oenomaus, Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess, Battlestar Galactica) is Lucretia Batiatus, widow of Quintus Batiatus who now hold a gift known as prophecy, and Dan Feuerriegel (Australian TV's McLeod's Daughters, Stupid Stupid Man) playing the part of Agron, German gladiator who was the first to join up with Spartacus and his revolt. Others in the cast include Manu Bennett as Crixus, Viva Bianca as Ilithyia, and as Gaius Claudius Glaber, Craig Parker. It's rousing and entertaining while not especially true to history.

A TV sitcom that is shown on the Disney Channel, A.N.T. Farm begins with episode one's imaginative title, TransplANTed. Advanced Natural Talents (A.N.T.) are gifted program participants in middle school. The series centers on 11 year old Chyna Parks who is a musical prodigy who joins others her age with special natural gifts including Olive, who has perfect recall or an eidetic memory and Fletcher, who is an artistic genius with a serious crush on Chyna. There are those in school who are jealous of the gifted kids, especially Lexi who is the most "popular girl" and sees Chyna as competition for the most popular category (which Chyna could care less about). Chyna Parks is played by China Anne McClain from Tyler Perry's House of Payne. Sierra McCormick (Romantically Challenged, Medium) is Olive Doyle a girl who recalls everything she sees, hears, or reads. Jake Short (Dexter, Zeke & Luther) is Fletcher Pumpernickel Quimby, who is an artistic genius with a big time crush on Chyna. Lexi Reed is the selfish self-centered "it" girl in school who worries about competition from Chyna and is played by Stefanie Scott from The New Adventures of Old Christina and Sons of Tucson. Entertaining Disney style film with a good theme involved.

Shōgun (2024) is FX's stunning historical drama set in feudal Japan, following English navigator John Blackthorne and Lord Toranaga in a sweeping tale of power, loyalty, and survival.