HBO offers ‘Watchmen’ adaptation
Weird enough to keep you guessing and just close enough to reality to seem terrifyingly believable, HBO’s “Watchmen” (9 p.m. Sunday, TV-MA) deserves attention.
Loosely based on the classic graphic novel series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, “Watchmen” presents an alternative view of present-day America. No internet exists, but police patrol in futuristic hovercraft. Not only is Robert Redford president, but he’s been in office for 30 years. A seething underground of embittered, masked white vigilantes promises to destroy Oklahoma’s seemingly prosperous middle-class black population, seen here attending a local production of “Oklahoma” and singing along.
“Watchmen” begins with a flashback to real events, the Tulsa riots of 1921, when white vigilantes burned down the black neighborhood of Greenwood, also known as the Black Wall Street. Hundreds were killed and thousands left homeless in what many describe as the worst incident of racial violence in American history.
While the Greenwood incident was buried in the history books, it provides a springboard for the racially charged violence in this series.
The cast is as eclectic as it is impressive. Look for Oscar winners Regina King, Lou Gossett Jr. and Jeremy Irons. Don Johnson has a memorable turn as Tulsa’s police chief, and Jean Smart as an FBI agent. Not to give too much away, Don Johnson not only acts, he sings “People Will Say We’re in Love,” from “Oklahoma.” He’s got a nice voice.
Speaking of music, the score, from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, often throbs with an ’80s synth-pop beat that will have you scouring thrift stores for old Vangelis records.
As jarring as its alternative reality can be, it’s never strange for its own sake. Some viewers, however, may find “Watchmen” just too violent to endure.
› Lifetime forgoes its women-in-peril movies for a single Saturday night to celebrate two
musical legends who happened to be friends. “Patsy & Loretta” (8 p.m. Saturday, TV-14) stars Megan Hilty as Patsy Cline and Jessie Mueller as Loretta Lynn.
The film begins when Cline was already a sensation at dance halls and getting radio play, and Lynn a nobody with a $17 guitar to her name. Cline becomes a personal friend and professional mentor, and each helps the other through problems with bad male managers and abusive men.
Viewers may recall Hilty from “Smash,” the NBC musical series set on Broadway. She’s got a big voice and delivers Patsy Cline’s legendary numbers without lip-synching. It’s hard enough to re-enact the lives of country legends, but even more difficult to reprise film roles played by two of the best actresses of their generation. Sissy Spacek won
an Oscar playing Loretta Lynn in “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” and Jessica Lange was Patsy Cline in “Sweet Dreams.”
› Deep-sea explorer Dr. Robert Ballard leads a search for the resting place of a beloved aviator on “Expedition Amelia” (8 p.m. Sunday, National Geographic, TV-G), a search for Amelia Earhart’s remains. Allison Janney narrates.
SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS
› Penn State hosts Michigan in college football action (7:30 p.m., ABC).
› Chris Pratt stars in the 2015 sequel “Jurassic World” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
› Dr. Sanjay Gupta tries to separate research from marketing hoopla on “Weed 5: The CBD Craze” (8 p.m., HLN).
Contact Kevin McDonough at kevin .tvguy@gmail.com.