{"id":2259246,"date":"2024-06-04T08:08:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T12:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/apple-tv-plus-benjamin-franklin-drama-equally-intrigues-and-bores\/"},"modified":"2024-06-04T08:12:39","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T12:12:39","slug":"apple-tv-plus-benjamin-franklin-drama-equally-intrigues-and-bores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/apple-tv-plus-benjamin-franklin-drama-equally-intrigues-and-bores\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple TV Plus&#8217; Benjamin Franklin drama is both captivating and dull"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fapple-tv-plus-benjamin-franklin-drama-equally-intrigues-and-bores%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2259246&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Apple TV Plus series &#8220;Franklin&#8221; portrays Benjamin \u2064Franklin&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/risky-business-how-hunter-bidens-foreign-dealings-could-cost-him-another-indictment\/\" title=\"Hunter Biden's foreign dealings pose a risk of further indictment.\">intriguing journey<\/a>\u2063 during the American Revolution, focusing on his diplomatic endeavors in France. Although <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-masked-billionaire-to-protect-us-here-the-batman-reviewer-says-new-york-is-basically-gotham-city-now\/\" title=\"\u2018No Masked Billionaire To Protect Us Here\u2019: \u2018The Batman\u2019 Reviewer Says New York Is Basically Gotham City Now\">receiving <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-praises-harry-and-meghans-courage-over-oprah-interview\/\" title=\"White House Praises Harry And Meghan\u2019s \u2018Courage\u2019 Over Oprah Interview\">mixed reviews<\/a><\/a>, the show delves into Franklin&#8217;s complexity as a key figure in history.\u2062 Michael Douglas portrays Franklin \u200cwith depth, bringing forth the drama and political intrigue of the era.\u2062 The Apple TV Plus series &#8220;Franklin&#8221; explores Benjamin Franklin&#8217;s \u2062diplomatic exploits in France during\u2063 the American Revolution. Despite mixed reviews, the show dives \u200binto Franklin&#8217;s\u2064 intricate\u2064 historical significance. Michael Douglas \u200badds depth to \u200dthe portrayal of Franklin, capturing the drama and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/un-agency-staffers-in-gaza-busted-shocking-report-links-them-directly-to-terror-groups\/\" title=\"UN Agency Staffers in Gaza Linked to Terror Groups, Shocking Report Reveals\">political intricacies<\/a> of that \u200bera \u200beffectively.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>It has been a strange and wonderful thing to watch Apple TV-Plus become an unassuming home for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/arts-culture\/television\/apple-tv-franklin-manhunt-masters-of-the-air-dad-tv-f6722749\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">great historical content<\/a>. While its science-fiction shows flounder, its dramas go unappreciated, its \u201cPeanuts\u201d specials go ignored, and its breakout series \u201cTed Lasso\u201d having concluded, the Apple-backed streaming service has found a modest business producing much of the finest historical content in recent memory.<\/p>\n<p>Whether it\u2019s the Tom Hanks-backed WWII productions \u201cGreyhound\u201d or \u201cMasters of the Air,\u201d the excellent Civil War drama \u201cManhunt,\u201d the contrarian documentary \u201cLincoln\u2019s Dilemma,\u201d or auteur epics like \u201cNapoleon\u201d and \u201cKillers of the Flower Moon,\u201d Apple TV-Plus has shown its willingness to throw massive sums at history series for a niche crowd of enthusiasts. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1220011872\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-992c5b07eb35898943ba6ce3cf1d8cec fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-992c5b07eb35898943ba6ce3cf1d8cec\"><\/div>\n<p>The newest of these is \u201cFranklin,\u201d a miniseries from former HBO chairman Richard Plepler and screenwriter Kirk Ellis, who both helped develop the \u201cJohn Adams\u201d miniseries. Borrowing from their prior experience adapting the popular David McCullough book into a vehicle for one of Paul Giamatti\u2019s greatest performances, this newest series adapts Stacy Schiff\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/A-Great-Improvisation-audiobook\/dp\/B007Z8YQD2\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3LG2OPET2B8V6&#038;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.OEeC3RQmyBBtYQlboZanQzRh3WXqcnU1n2iidBvXUR4ruHTfL0qEoGMolELWzcki8SGgnyRz_KZmf3q2wfftD-PP2Js3Trm2GvExuLKaveO9n9OKl23sHB7QIXJbGAnOvv1GxM3Pp4DMtx1sEqVbsGleU9fO7vlp9F6EYtqHd6lgJwEVmeRcpJvaSCt7x6jFH372s1c1XTJyBBIce3LqEDwjFzq8hRePV_T6crcxjMI.aCNq45NFqnagCTrse9UOGzQ7Nq2rz-WR81ocIij3VHE&#038;dib_tag=se&#038;keywords=A+Great+Improvisation:+Franklin,+France,+and+the+Birth+of+America&#038;qid=1716852575&#038;sprefix=a+great+improvisation+franklin,+france,+and+the+birth+of+america,aps,444&#038;sr=8-1\"><em>A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America<\/em><\/a>  into an eight-episode political drama \u2014 which just had its finale on May 17. <\/p>\n<p>The series has thus far gone relatively ignored in the wider pop culture, a victim of the oversaturation of the streaming economy. However, the nominal reception it has received has been relatively lukewarm to negative. Its Rotten Tomatoes audience rating is 52 percent, with mainstream critics being mixed \u2014 some calling it \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/franklin-tv-review-2024\">crackling<\/a>,\u201d \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pastemagazine.com\/tv\/apple-tv-plus\/franklin-review\">addictive<\/a>,\u201d \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.avclub.com\/franklin-review-apple-tv-plus-michael-douglas-1851392074\">nuanced<\/a>,\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2024\/tv\/reviews\/franklin-tv-series-michael-douglas-1235959062\/\">beautifully textured<\/a>,\u201d and others calling it \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/GMA\/Culture\/review-franklin-proceeds-clunky-determination-falls-short\/story?id=109093235\">clunky<\/a>,\u201d \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.indiewire.com\/criticism\/shows\/franklin-series-review-michael-douglas-not-very-good-trend-1234973792\/\">apathetic<\/a>,\u201d \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-reviews\/franklin-review-michael-douglas-apple-tv-1235871109\/\">poorly focused<\/a>,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2024\/tv\/reviews\/franklin-tv-series-michael-douglas-1235959062\/\">\u201cexhausting\u201d and \u201cmind-numbing.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>There is truth to the criticisms. \u201cFranklin\u2019s\u201d creators haven\u2019t made the \u201cJohn Adams\u201d lightning strike twice, nor are they likely to in the post-1619 Project or post-\u201cHamilton\u201d world. However, a drama about Benjamin Franklin is naturally going to involve eccentricity. Being the oldest and wisest of the Founding Fathers, he was the elder statesman of the American Revolution, and his involvement in the war involved a great deal of backdoor dealmaking and lurid drama. In these regards, \u201cFranklin\u201d works. <\/p>\n<p>The series is set against the American Revolution, charting the years Franklin served in France as an unofficial ambassador to the United States, as he attempts to curry favor among the elites and draw England\u2019s hated enemy into the war. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a5785c8734ecdfc1662e910d9121da8c fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a5785c8734ecdfc1662e910d9121da8c\"><\/div>\n<p>The core idea the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/giannis-antetokounmpos-block-khris-middletons-heroics-even-nba-finals-at-two-games-apiece\/\" title=\"Giannis Antetokounmpo\u2019s Block, Khris Middleton\u2019s Heroics Even NBA Finals at Two Games Apiece\">series plays<\/a> with is the complexity of diplomacy, and this is something Benjamin Franklin is uniquely well and poorly suited to. He\u2019s an international celebrity, a renowned scientist, and the living embodiment of the New World. He\u2019s a sage, a libertine, and a journalist, with an adept understanding of the French people. He\u2019s also beloved by those around him, highly aware of his fame and eager to take advantage of the game of politics for personal gain. He\u2019s able to be funny on command, while still portraying some of the endemic earthiness and grit essential to the early American soul, compared to the elegance of the aristocracy.<\/p>\n<p>These factors place his arrival in France as a great source of drama and intrigue, as he proves remarkably adept at playing the games necessary to advance in the decadent world of 1770s France. <\/p>\n<p>Michael Douglas shows up to play the titular role, but his portrayal of Franklin is more of a concoction than an embodiment of the character. His version of Franklin is acerbic, witty, smooth, sexually liberated, and kindly, particularly regarding his grandfatherly relationship with his grandson, Temple. But whereas Howard da Silva disappeared into the role in \u201c1776,\u201d Douglas creates his version of Franklin that is compelling, multidimensional, and inauthentic. <\/p>\n<p>Given that the series is set over nearly a decade, the plot\u2019s progress grinds to a halt at points, while its main characters struggle to move it forward. Temple has his own coming-of-age story in the background that keeps him busy, while Franklin is grappling with nosy police, British spies, selfish aristocrats, and a French king who is weary of betting on the outcome of the war in a manner that would harm the monarchy (and ultimately does). This is a story of long-term maneuvering, with characters having complex motivations and cynical actors constantly attempting to head off one another, to seemingly little effect. This crawling plot is somewhat purposeful, given that Franklin himself affirms that this is his tactic to make progress with the French court, but it makes for messy television plotting. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-7583f6c00cc5c52498870050aad63c60 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-7583f6c00cc5c52498870050aad63c60\"><\/div>\n<p>Thankfully, Eddie Marsan\u2019s John Adams appears in the back half of the series and adds an extra layer of drama to the proceedings as the numerous threads and conflicts converge. Much like in the \u201cJohn Adams\u201d miniseries, which covers these events in one-eighth the screentime, Adams is clueless about how to address the French diplomats and has differing priorities from Franklin, whose libertine sexual activities disgust him. Others descend upon him in this manner and try to take advantage of those disagreements to sow division.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s certainly much to recommend with \u201cFranklin,\u201d despite that it appeals to a fairly narrow audience. Speaking for myself, there aren\u2019t many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.battlefields.org\/learn\/articles\/teachers-guide-revolutionary-war-movies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">shows or movies about the Revolutionary War<\/a>. What comes to mind are \u201cThe Patriot,\u201d \u201cDrums Along the Mohawk,\u201d \u201c1776,\u201d \u201cJohn Adams,\u201d \u201cHamilton,\u201d and a handful of low-budget television shows and silent movies. \u201cFranklin,\u201d though certainly quiet and flawed, stands out to me, as there simply aren\u2019t many contemporary retellings about this valuable time of history. It is easy to forgive something rare. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4e22f5da47061b541ddbb21903261666 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4e22f5da47061b541ddbb21903261666\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Apple TV Plus has transformed into an unexpected hub for compelling historical content. Despite science-fiction shows struggling and dramas overlooked, the platform&#8217;s offerings like &#8220;Peanuts&#8221; specials and the acclaimed series &#8220;Ted Lasso&#8221; have garnered attention. Apple&#8217;s streaming service has quietly carved out a niche for producing engaging programming<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3027,"featured_media":2259247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screenshot-2024-05-30-at-1.56.01%E2%80%AFPM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2259246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screenshot-2024-05-30-at-1.56.01%E2%80%AFPM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2259246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3027"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2259246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2259246\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2259247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2259246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2259246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2259246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}