Sunday, March 5, 2017

TV: Mercy Street Season 2****

Mercy Street is a homegrown PBS series: A period drama set in occupied Alexandria, Virginia, in an Union hospital during the Civil War. In season 2, Mansion House Hospital, once a Confederate hotel, continues to be the venue of much medical work, mischief, sadness, and untimely affection. The Green family, Virginians and former owners of the hotel, who are now the reluctant hosts of Union Army officers, find themselves further engaged in espionage and sabotage. Dr. Foster and Nurse Phinney might finally admit their affection for each other, but then, she gets Typhoid. Smallpox, believed to be a “Negro” disease, is becoming and epidemic. Charlotte Jenkins, an anti-slavery activist and former slave, shows up in Alexandria and leads the effort to treat the infected contraband and teach any Black person within reach how to read.

It doesn't happen very often, but the second season was an improvement on the first. The second time around, the acting was more believable, the storylines dug way deeper, and the look and feel of the production continued to be beautifully designed and shot. It's only March, but this would give any other movie/TV show a run for its money in the “Best Look” category of the Chocket Awards.


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