review of Big Little Lies 1.1-1.2 

Big Little Lies, set to put on its third episode in a limited series on HBO tonight.

Murder stories are a dime a dozen, ranging from some of the almost unbearably trite series on the old networks to the compelling Nordic and kindred noir series streaming on Netflix and Amazon.  In view of those superb binge-watchable programs, I\'m sometimes moved to say that the cutting edge of television has already passed from cable to streaming services.

But Big Little Lies proves otherwise, and at very least shows that HBO can still come up with a unique kind of story.  For starters, here we are after two episodes, and we still don\'t know who the victim is, let alone the killer.  HBO is showing that it can still put up a whodunnit with the best of \'em, without not only an identifiable body but a name.   Other series - such as The Affair - have woven a little of this into their stories.  In Big Little Lies, it\'s the whole story, or at least, one of two of them.

And the star power, especially regarding the women, is incandescent.  Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern, and the lesser-known Shailene Woodley are just superb, conveying a range of nuance not often found in a television series, especially not one about a murder.

But Iain Armitage, who plays a boy who at this point is accused only of grabbing a little girl by the neck, puts in a stellar performance, too.   So much so that, although I think he\'s being wrongly accused, I wouldn\'t quite bet the house on it, yet.   (But if I had to bet, my wife and I think the culprit is likely one of Celeste\'s - Nicole Kidman\'s - twin boys - which would follow from their having a physically abusive father.)

That incident at school, by the way, is the second story I alluded to earlier.  But everything\'s intricately connected and woven together on Big Little Lies, and I\'m looking forward to more of this compelling David E. Kelley creation (who also does Amazon\'s Goliath, and goes back to great network drama such as The Practice), based on the novel by Liane Moriarty.

Labels: Big Little Lies, David E. Kelley, Iain Armitage, Laura Dern, Liane Moriarty, Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon

happy to autograph any copies of my books - click here

w/time-travel stories about Orson Welles, John Lennon, David Bowie

The Chronology Protection Case movie, with new extended ending

The Plot to Save Socrates on 10 Perfect Summer Reads Authored by NYU Alums

Unburning Alexandria on Sideways through Time: 36 Novels about Time Travel curated by Booklist

my Internet Science Fiction Data Base bibliography

This blog quoted in New York Times & Los Angeles Times & Boston Globe & The Atlantic!

TWICE UPON A RHYME on iTunes and Amazon ... SPUN DREAMS on iTunes and Amazon ...

ICYMI: recent interviews with Paul Levinson in Barren Island Books ... The Morton Report ... SpecMuse ... The Cult of Me ... Patrick Satters blog ... Hungry Writer ... Kathleen Valentine\'s blog ... Take the Plunge ... Writer\'s Bloc ... Noahkmullette-gillman blog ... Book Goodies ... johnmac Radio Show ... It\'s Psychedelic Baby!" .... Chris and Carl\'s Film Box ... Michael Ventrella\'s blog

Digital McLuhan #16 on Robert Anton Wilson\'s recommended book list ...

Sopranos Conference at Fordham Universty, May 22-25, 2008

Enjoy Levinson\'s Field Guide to Republican Tics

EllisLanding ... wide variety of books in excellent condition at low prices

Paul Levinson, PhD, is Professor of Communication & Media Studies at Fordham University in New York City.  His 8 nonfiction books, including The Soft Edge (1997), Digital McLuhan (1999), Realspace (2003),  Cellphone (2004), and New New Media (2009, 2nd edition 2012), have been the subject of major articles in the New York Times, Wired, the Christian Science Monitor, and have been translated into 12 languages. His science fiction novels include The Silk Code (1999, ebook 2012), Borrowed Tides (2001), TheConsciousness Plague (2002, 2013), The Pixel Eye (2003), The Plot To SaveSocrates (2006, ebook 2012), and Unburning Alexandria (2013).  His short stories have been nominated for Nebula, Hugo, Edgar, and Sturgeon Awards.  Paul Levinson appears on "The O'Reilly Factor" (Fox News), "The CBS Evening News,"  “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” (PBS),  “Nightline” (ABC), NPR, and numerous national and international TV and radio programs. His 1972 album, Twice Upon a Rhyme, was re-issued in 2009 (CD) and 2010 (remastered vinyl). He reviews the best of television in his InfiniteRegress.tv blog, and was listed in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Top 10 Academic Twitterers” in 2009.

Chronicle of Higher Education puts Paul Levinson in Top 10 (#7) of Academic "High Flyers" on Twitter ... Online University Data puts PL in "Top 50 Online University Professors on Twitter Worth Following"...

Dear Paul, I just dreamed of airships flying between raindrops. I just returned from 2042 CE, where I sold my hardcover copy of The Plot to Save Socrates for seventy million Neo-Euros, because it had your response to this e-mail from way back in 2007 scotch-taped onto the inside of the cover. A Paul Levinson collector paid top Neo-Euro, because of the authentic archaic e-mail printout from you. It turns out that not many of your e-mails from before your tenure as CEO of HBO/Cinemax and terms as United Nations Secretary General will survive that far into the future. So, please respond to this e-mail, to help found my great-grandchildren\'s fortune. My Will will stipulate that they must share with your great grandchidren. Thanks! Tom

President, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, 1998-2001

I’m proud to be on the May 8 page of this calendar, with the following quote:

"What begins as a seemingly innocent campaign against indecency … always segues in short order into political censorship."

YouTube one-on-one with Bill O\'Reilly, Patrick Buchanan, Jesse Ventura, James Cameron, more

Educated Tastes food, drink, restaurants, recipes, groceries

Reverbnation Twice Upon a Rhyme and Spun Dreams albums

Black Sails 4.6: Spanish Horsemen with Lances

Time after Time: H. G. Wells Back in Action

Colony 2.8: What Passes for a Happy Ending

"the only people who have proof of their sanity are those who have been discharged from mental institutions"— Marshall McLuhan

The Factor about the private lives of news anchors

winner Locus Award for Best 1st Science Fiction Novel, 2000

"Forensic detective Phil D’Amato one of my favorite characters" -Connie Willis

"superb & often amusing account of one of greatest revolutions in human history" -Arthur C. Clarke

James Harris covers my "Looking for Sunsets (in the Early Morning)"

100 rare + unreleased tracks were on sale April 18-21, 2011. All proceeds went to help Japan! Thanks for your generosity! Tracks included Tori Amos, Sara Bareilles, Josh Ritter ... and Paul Levinson singing "Sunshine\'s Mine"!

Twice Upon a Rhyme reviewed in Jan-Feb 2011 Shindig Magazine

radio stations that have played tracks from

Twice Upon a Rhyme ... JackMix.FM ... RockOn365 ... Garage Lombus ... Way Off the Grid Radio ... BeautyRadio.com ... mjc Radio ... Progulus Radio ... fatBuzz ... The Rock Doctor ... Radio BGC ... Swan Fungus ... Gratitude Radio ... Travelling Underground ... Real Hit Radio ... More than Music and Memories ... Boston Internet Radio ... Memory Lane Radio with BIG BOB ... Outside the Dial ... Family Dog Radio ... Golden String Radio ... Positively Charged ... R@dio Dimension ... My Retro Radio ... Plastic Tales from the Marshmallow Dimension, WNYU, 89.1 FM, New York City ... Pete Fornatale\'s Mixed Bag, WFUV, 90.7 FM, New York City ...

Science Fiction Magazines and Bound Galleys for Sale

science fiction magazines for sale: Analog, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Weird Tales, Locus

Bound Galleys for Sale: Science Fiction and Fanta...

Paul Levinson appears on "The O\'Reilly Factor" (Fox News), "The CBS Evening News," "Nightline" (ABC), the "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" (PBS), "The Dylan Ratigan Show" (MSNBC) and frequently on NPR and all-news radio...