I wish you would all read Paul Theroux’s 1981 novel, “The Mosquito Coast.” It’s a page turner, gripping, maybe the best of all his excellent reads.
Then there’s the 1986 movie with Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, River Phoenix, and Martha Plimpton. Peter Weir directed the hell out of it. Ford’s Allie Fox is one of his best non-franchise characters, a madman, eccentric, evil genius.
Now comes the Apple TV version, as a series which was just picked up for Season 2. Why, I ask, why? No one likes it. The TV series has a 61 on Rotten Tomatoes among critics and an 83 with fans. The TV series has completely misunderstood the book and the movie.
But there are so many platforms for content that once you’ve got something, why not keep going? Filling all those hours on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Crackle, Spackle, whatever plus HBO and Showtime not to mention the broadcast networks….Meanwhile, “Ozark” is only doing one more short season! There is no justice!
So get out the bug repellent and the zapper, the netting and the fly swatter.
PS a little ironic that Apple TV’s two biggest shows feature a now divorced couple– Jennifer Aniston on “The Morning Show” and Justin Theroux on this one. I guess they have to schedule their TCA press conferences on different days!
