Speaking to her embarrassment of riches — from the Oscars to the Emmys — Mirren notes, "I [also] have had a few losses, so I am very familiar with that feeling as well. It's always down to the writing, and, of course, the direction. The writing is where the role springs from and I was lucky to have some beautifully written roles."Updating us on the matter of ever meeting up with the queen, whom she portrayed to Academy Award-winning perfection, Mirren says, "The queen and I haven’t hooked up yet. She very graciously invited me to dinner, but [I wasn't able to go]. I felt mortified, but there was nothing I could do." A royal rain check, perhaps? "I don’t know, only time will tell! I certainly hope so."
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9:50: Sally Field looks freakin' terrific. And she and winner Helen Mirren are wearing two of the nicer, more creative colors of the night. Unfortunately, Helen's dress looks a little like a safety harness. But at least a pretty-colored one!9:51: Helen is asking the conductor to Muzak her off. "I'm going on and on," she notes. But she's British, so it's charming.9:52: Lewis Black is sorta yelling at us now. He's like Gilbert Gottfried, only less greasy. But he's spot-on with his gripe: Enough with the teasers during a show for a show that will come on later! No wonder he's yelling. That stuff ticks me off, too.9:53: Oh dear. Lisa Edelstein can't quite fill in her frontless dress. I'm 200 percent against boob jobs, and Edelstein's a knockout, but as Britney recently taught us, packaging is everything.9:55: They run one of those annoying ads under Black as he is plugging Fox's fall schedule. They lost me there. The ad wasn't nearly as garish as the ones they normally run, and it only ...
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Question: The final Prime Suspect has been shown here in London, and it was sensational. There was a bit of swearing in it, which added to the show. Do you think, though, that the swearing will be edited or dubbed over on the U.S. version? It would be a shame, as the swearing is used rarely and at the right moment to cause impact. The FCC and Parents Television Council don't seem to understand that sometimes sex and swearing increase the dramatic quality of a TV show. Can you imagine Tony Soprano using the word "friggin'" all the time? It just wouldn't ring true.
Answer: There were, according to WGBH, "a few small edits to bring the program into our usual length and editorial standards." But never fear. The integrity of this brilliant program shines through, at least judging from the review copy I saw. (I'm not sure if the edits were in that version; I didn't notice any gratuitously foul language, but then, I wasn't looking for it and don't always notice it.) As I noted in my review of
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As the great Prime Suspect crime-drama franchise airs its final chapter (Sunday, Nov. 12 on PBS, check listings), terrible grief and emotional turmoil await fans — not to be confused with our despair over this being Helen Mirren's last turn as the tough, troubled Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison.
There's not a wrong note, no concession to sentiment or vanity, in Mirren's brilliant swan song. The case that will cap Tennison's career, as she faces unwelcome retirement, is a shattering doozy, involving the disappearance of a teenage star pupil. But the real suspense in the two-part Prime Suspect: The Final Act is whether Tennison can hold it together long enough to solve the case and salvage her own pro
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Question: I just watched the first episode of the British series Prime Suspect with Helen Mirren, and I loved it. Is it my imagination, or was The Closer based loosely on this series? Couldn't help but notice the similarities.
Answer: I would think any dramatic series featuring a lead female detective owes a creative debt to Prime Suspect, and certainly Brenda Leigh Johnson’s prowess in the interrogation room can be compared to Jane Tennison’s tough demeanor when grilling a suspect. Also, the fact that both characters lead a squad composed primarily of men, and that neither bonds particularly well with women, and that their personal relationships with men (both on and off the job) are invariably messy, all lend credence to this argument. Still, I wouldn’t exactly say The Closer is a clone just because they’re in the same genre. Prime Suspect is much grittier, and the character of Tennison is a much darker soul, confronting discrimination and ageism in a way that Brenda Leigh has mostly
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