Turn packs emotional punch
The new period epic Turn is a spy drama more than a war drama. It debuted last Sunday, where it was easy to miss.
The pilot episode is being repeated Saturday, and it’s worth the effort to watch.
Turn is set during the American Revolutionary War. And while it takes time to become invested in the lives of a New York state farmer and his childhood friends who form an unlikely group of spies, the Culper Ring, it packs an emotional punch by the end.
Part of that is thanks to affecting performances by Seth Numrich, Anna Strong and Jamie Bell as the friends reluctantly caught up in the conflict and forced to choose between their ideals and a comfortable life under the British crown.
Turn is a costume drama with action, set in a period that has been largely overlooked by TV and the movies, featuring well- drawn characters one can identify with and believe in. ( AMC — 6 p. m.) I know Philip Seymour Hoffman made many movies, but did he ever do any television work? Carol Davies via email In fact, his first listed credit on film is a 1991 episode of Law & Order. The story was titled The Violence of Summer, and it also featured Samuel L. Jackson as a guest. Most of Hoffman’s subsequent work would be on the big screen and the theatrical stage, but he returned to TV occasionally. He was in a 1994 version of the classic story The Yearling; he was part of the ensemble cast of the 1997 miniseries Liberty! The American Revolution; he starred with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, among others, in the 2005 HBO project Empire Falls; and he lent his voice to a 2009 episode of the animated series Arthur. At the time of his death, Hoffman was readying a comedy series titled Happyish. Some years ago, I watched the movie The Dollmaker with Jane Fonda on television. Is it available on DVD? If not, will it be aired on TV again? Margi Memoli There’s always a possibility something will be shown again, but, as for the immediate future, we have no indication of another telecast. An Internet search found DVD copies of The Dollmaker, but those look to have been made either from broadcasts or a VHS tape that was issued in 1992. As always, we advise caution, since there isn’t the same quality as there is with an officially issued disc. The VHS version can be found for purchase on the Web, but it’s somewhat pricey. I enjoyed seeing Dreamgirls on television recently. I know Jennifer Hudson won an Oscar for it, but had she done any acting before that? Sharon Connors, via email She hadn’t, which made her performance all the more impressive. While she has continued the music career for which she’s a Grammy winner, Hudson has returned to film work occasionally, including her role as Carrie’s ( Sarah Jessica Parker) assistant in the first Sex and the City movie. Her other screen credits have included The Secret Life of Bees, The Three Stooges, the recent Black Nativity and the title role in Winnie Mandela.