TELEVISION REVIEW: "A COUNTRY ON THE BRINK"

In an unprecedented move, last Friday  MSNBC teamed up with CNN and Fox News to present A Country on the Brink, a new miniseries about how a police killing of an unarmed black man leads to coast-to-coast protests that spiral out of control with devastating consequences.

Before continuing my review of A Country on the Brink, a full disclosure is required: Recently, my wife and I renegotiated our Spectrum Cable service to include only 10 cable networks on top of our regular local channels. I chose to leave out Fox News because its usual zany prime time line-up has become too reminiscent of 1960s sitcoms like Gilligan's Island, Mr. Terrific, My Mother The Car, and Mr. Ed.  Therefore, I can comment only on CNN and MSNBC's broadcast. 

Like Orson Welles' legendary War of the Worlds 1938 radio dramatization, A Country on the Brink puts reporters in the thick of the action. On Friday's episode, MSNBC generously allowed its rival to take center stage as protesters, led by a white skaterboy, attacked the exterior of CNN headquarters while Atlanta police stood guard in the lobby. 



The scene's most startling

moment -- a flashbang thrown into the lobby by an unidentified character outside -- created a thrilling climax, which apparently took even the actor playing the reporter by surprise, as he let out a four-letter epithet for fertilizer. 

That kind of adult language was boldly repeated over the first three nights. While reporters on both networks walked past buildings that were either looted or desecrated by graffiti, one cryptic phrase could easily be made out by viewers at home.

The phrase was the notorious F word followed by the number 12. Your reviewer admits to resorting to Google in order to understand its meaning.

In this case, the F word is used in its classic insult form, i.e., "Thumbs down." 12 is a slang, used primarily by urban youths and rappers, originally referring to members of the DEA, but now covering all policing agencies. It's similar to the way Xerox and Kleenex are used as generic words despite being brand names. 

As if deliberately doubling-down on this use of the F word, it could also be seen on a handmade placard followed by the word Amerikkka. This deliberate misspelling, of course, refers to the Ku Klux Klan, a fraternal organization with an admittedly checkered past. Its use represents a bold step for commercial-sponsored cable television, placing CNN and MSNBC on par with HBO for brutal realism.

Viewers could also see another phrase on A Country on the Brink which at first glance I mistook for an advertisement for CPAP machines. On second glance, however, I realized it said ACAB. Again, a cursory internet search explained that it was an abbreviation for All Cops Are Bastards. In this case, the word "bastards" doesn't seem to refer to their birth origins.

Unfortunately, A Country on the Brink started to falter on Sunday evening when Chris Cuomo took a starring role. Cuomo -- best known for co-starring with his brother Andrew on CNN's annoying comedy Sibling Revelry -- appears out of his depth playing a news anchor, resorting to allegedly thoughtful turns of phrases when simple statements will do. 

I take no joy in reporting that Cuomo's delivery doesn't evoke, say, the late Eric Sevareid's cerebral news analyses as much as it does Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom reciting Shakespeare. And while up to that point I had given both news networks an even chance, from that point on I switched to MSNBC for the remaining 90 minutes.

And this was where A Country at the Brink came to its literally blazing finale in Washington D.C. As policemen tried desperately to keep order, a fire was set in a park across the street from the White House. It provided an unforgettable image, rivaled only by the backwards dream scene in Twin Peaks a quarter-century ago.

Adding the surrealism was Brian Williams as the anchorman. His understated, darkly humorous reporting of the president's only comment of the evening's events -- "FAKE NEWS!" -- reminds one that Williams' sardonic presence is sorely missed on prime time television.

That president -- quoted by reporters, loathed by protesters -- was an unseen presence throughout the evening, looming like an invisible puppet master, arsonist, and all-around troublemaker: the classic villain of dramas throughout history.  

Of course, minor quibbles could be made. Just how realistic is a president like the one presented in A Country on the Brink? Would a character smart enough to get elected president be so thick as to actually believe his unhelpful inflammatory statements and general inaction will lead to his re-election? 

Too, audience sympathy for the protesters and their cause is tempered by scenes of them looting stores -- even if the split scene juxtaposition of the D.C. fire provided further drama. Still, it's an overused cliche that should be done away with. (The lack of police presence during the looting scene was another head-scratching moment.)

By and large, the background actors did a fine job. Their anger was palpable, putting the viewer in the very thick of a frightening situation, whether in L.A., New York, Philadelphia, and a half dozen or so other cities. (Kudos to the technicians who had to pull off the drama with split-second timing!)

However, in a series like A Country on the Brink, where local, inexperienced talent is hired, one or two extras broke the suspension of disbelief by waving at the camera. It was regrettable, to be sure, but not the fault of the director. Indeed, the fact that countless extras hit their marks at just the right moment, appearing to put their lives on the line, was impressive. Perhaps they followed the simple dictum Hands down, don't wave!

Overall, A Country on the Brink makes for mesmerizing television, particularly when the networks forgo the usual commercial breaks so as to not disrupt the unfolding drama. Whatever A Country on the Brink lacks in realism, it definitely makes up for in jarring entertainment. And with its atypical absence of "social distancing" on the parts of both the primary and background actors, it shows that television is ready to go back to normal. 

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