In our eight years of marriage, my wife and I haven’t even considered bringing a TV set into our home. Where would we put it? And now, why even bother? The Internet keeps us informed, and I can catch the odd Bruins game at my father-in-law’s.
I’m happy that I’ve missed the whole reality TV craze. My conscience isn’t a bit bothered that I haven’t seen an episode of Survivor.
However, there have apparently been a few TV gems over the last few years. Recently my department head handed me the DVDs of the first two seasons of Slings and Arrows
She was absolutely right. The show was wonderfully done – sharply scripted and intelligently acted. I’ve watched the six episodes of the first season, all of which relate in some way to Hamlet. (Season 2 is about Macbeth; Season 3, King Lear.)
My Grade 12 class would benefit from seeing artistic director Geoffrey Tennant (played by Paul Gross) providing background to characters:
- His explanation of Macbeth’s emotions to an accountant.
- His description of Ophelia’s youthful madness and its source.
- His challenge to an actor to decide what Hamlet knows before delivering the famous Act 3, Scene 1 soliloquy.
I appreciated the reflection of Hamlet in Paul Gross’s character – conversations with a ghost, questions about his sanity, and the lingering hurt of a deep betrayal.
Instructors will want to carefully preview any clips intended for classroom use to avoid the very coarse language, sex, and drugs.
Unable to travel back in time to revisit Paul Gross’s Hamlet at the Stratford Festival (which remains the definitive Hamlet for me), the Slings and Arrows DVDs do a great job of reminding of all that I loved about that production.
