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Arts & Life
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- Written by: Tim Riley
Competition among cable networks in recent years for major event series programming has been fierce, with dramas such as “Breaking Bad,” “Mad Men,” “Game of Thrones” and “Homeland” garnering critical acclaim and awards. These shows run on the HBO, AMC and Showtime cable channels.
What’s missing in this mix of cable outlets is the USA Network, which may not have a cabinet full of awards, but does manage to crank out many popular entertainment series such as the spy thriller “Burn Notice,” the riveting legal drama “Suits,” and the ever popular “White Collar.”
Since last summer, USA Network has been talking about going big, launching an event series that is deep into murder mystery and rich in conspiracy theories. It was in July, 2014, when Chris McCumber, the network president, told a gathering of the nation’s TV critics about the action event series “Dig.”
At the time, McCumber was touting the “provocative new show set in Jerusalem” which would be “a ‘Da Vinci Code’ like thriller starring Anne Heche and Jason Isaacs that follows the discovery of a conspiracy 2,000 years in the making.” Indeed, the USA executive convincingly made the whole enterprise sound like a big deal.
Drawing a larger portrait of the “Dig” experience was executive producer Tim Kring, who observed that the closed end series of six episodes would focus on the story having a beginning, middle and end.
And to validate the point, series star Jason Isaacs claimed he found “continual frustration” with open ended series that never reach a conclusion.
Now that “Dig,” which was reportedly on filming hiatus for a while during armed conflicts arising in the Middle East, is ready to roll out on Thursday, March 5, the adventure has expanded to a ten-episode event, which given the essence of the series’ complicated storylines may be absolutely essential to reaching a satisfactory ending.
Even after watching the first two episodes, I found that “Dig” holds one in suspense because the nature of the conspiracy, of which there is apparently more than one, remains a big mystery.
Initially, the plot gets rolling when Jason Isaacs’ FBI agent Peter Connelly, stationed in Jerusalem, gets involved in the murder investigation of a young American female archeology student (Alison Sudol).
Several threads in the narrative create interesting scenarios. Though Jerusalem is the primary backdrop for the action involving Connelly’s sleuthing, interconnected events are happening in desolate areas of Norway and New Mexico, as well as in a scenic coastal area of Croatia, that have a real bearing on the overall story.
Biblical prophecy is a big part of the story, and it may cause viewers to do some of their own background research, if for no other reason than to satisfy curiosity about historical incidents or to explore the vast reach of conspiracy theories.
Hasidic Jews converge on a farm in rural Norway to witness the birth of a red heifer, which will figure into a dangerous journey by land and sea back to Israel. By all means, conduct your own Google search on the meaning of the red heifer for biblical prophecy.
Meanwhile, in a remote desert area of New Mexico, a religious cult under the leadership of Pastor Ted Billingham (David Costabile) has sheltered a young child from the impurities of the outside world, cultivating the youngster’s potential as a messiah, even while church adherent Debbie (Lauren Ambrose) harbors serious doubts about the cult’s activities.
Most of the action takes place in Jerusalem where Connelly reports to the American consulate station chief Lynn Monahan (Anne Heche), resulting in an often awkward situation for him not only because he’s an independent operator unconstrained by diplomatic niceties, but he’s also sleeping with his boss.
For his part in the murder investigation, Connelly doesn’t play well with others, resulting in a source of real friction with Israeli detective Golan Cohen (Ori Pfeffer), who insists that the American has no jurisdiction in a foreign land and as a result, must work in cooperation with and subservient to the local authorities.
The premise of “Dig” is both interesting and promising, and the essentially mysterious nature of the unfolding conspiracies commands attention.
In fact, the series requires one to pay attention to the details, which can be as obscure as the scribbling in the archeologist’s notebook.
Hyped as an action thriller, “Dig” doesn’t fit neatly into the popular conception of what is required for the action to be authentically rousing and full of excitement. “Dig” seems preoccupied with peeling back the many layers of mystery, and that alone may be just enough to keep viewers coming back week after week.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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- Written by: Editor
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A diverse range of musical styles on the keyboard will be presented at the Soper Reese Theatre on Sunday, March 8, by seven well-known pianists from the region.
Musicians will combine their talent and years of experience to benefit fundraising efforts for the arts and education in Lake County.
The Lake County Friends of Mendocino College is partnering with the Soper Reese Theatre to sponsor the fourth annual Benefit Pianists Concert.
The afternoon begins at 2 p.m. with a no-host reception featuring fine Lake County wines, followed by the concert at 3 p.m.
Raffle tickets for baskets of Lake County products donated by businesses and individuals will be sold during the reception and intermission.
Lake County artists Tom Aiken, Tom Ganoung and David Neft will be joined by performers Spencer Brewer, Elena Casanova, Elizabeth MacDougall and Ed Reinhart from Mendocino County.
The concert will feature all the pianists on stage throughout the performance as they converse about their life experiences and play a variety of musical selections.
Piano student Hana Consterdine of Lakeport will open the concert with a special performance.
Tickets are $25 for regular reserved and $30 for premium reserved, and may be purchased at the theater box office on Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. or online at www.soperreesetheatre.com . Tickets are also available at the Travel Center, 1265 S. Main St. in Lakeport, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“The Lake County Friends, an affiliate of the Mendocino College Foundation, was created to benefit students and programs at the Lake Center. We are delighted that proceeds from this benefit concert will enable us to help equip the first Chemistry laboratory at the Lake Center campus in Lakeport,” said Wilda Shock, chairperson of Friends.
Proceeds from the past concerts have funded $1,000 scholarships for Lake County students at Mendocino College and tutors at the Lake Center.
More information about the Friends is available from Shock at 707-263-7575.
The Soper Reese Theatre is a restored performing arts venue operated by an all-volunteer management team under the auspices of the Lake County Arts Council.
“Concert proceeds will be dedicated to the next phases of theater renovation, including expansion of the lobby and new restrooms,” according to Mike Adams, executive director.
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- Written by: Editor
UKIAH, Calif. – Mendocino College is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Center for Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) with a wonderful collection of faculty art pieces.
More than 30 alumni and current art instructors are participating in this upcoming exhibit.
These artists include Holly Brackmann, Bob Commings, and Gary Medina, who were the founding art department faculty at Mendocino College.
These faculty members played a key role in the construction of the CVPA 20 years ago.
This exhibition highlights the diverse creative talents brought to Mendocino College by the instructors who have contributed and enhanced the high quality of art education offered by the Mendocino-Lake Community College District.
A dynamic selection of work includes sculpture, ceramics, painting, textiles, mixed-media, photography and printmaking.
The opening reception of this show will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, March 5, at the Mendocino College Art Gallery.
Admission to the gallery is free of charge and the show will run until March 26.
Regular gallery hours are Tuesday through Thursday from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.
For more information or to make a special appointment to view the gallery, please call 707-468-3207 or e-mail [email protected] .
Mendocino College is located at 1000 Hensley Creek Road in Ukiah.
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- Written by: Ted Kooser
Several years ago, Judith Kitchen and I published an anthology of poems about birds, and since then I keep finding ones I wished we’d known about at the time.
Here’s one by Barbara Ellen Sorensen, who lives in Colorado.
Pelican
Under warm New Mexico sun,
we watched the pelican place
himself down among the mallards
as if he had been there all along,
as if they were expecting the large,
cumbersome body, the ungainliness.
And he, sensing his own unsightly
appearance, tucked his head close
to his body and took on the smooth
insouciance of a swan.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright 2013 by Barbara Ellen Sorensen from her most recent book of poems Compositions of the Dead Playing Flutes, (Able Muse Press, 2013). Poem reprinted by permission of Barbara Ellen Sorensen and the publisher. Introduction copyright 2015 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.