Speakerine

This mini-series about a female TV host in the Sixties has many strong points, with a few surprising weaknesses. It's certainly watchable and even fun up to a point. Setting it at just that junction has a number of advantages - the predictable sexism, the intrigues of the OAS, De Gaulle's over arching presence, the tentative dance of the French with the Americans. There is one almost caricaturally evil schemer, sometimes too predictable (she notably recalls a recurring villain on "Law and Order: CI"), but with some surprising wrinkles as well. The fact that the father, sometimes a mushy corporate pawn, is also an ex-Resistance fighter adds some texture. There are hints of "Eyes Wide Shut" - lite. Those who track wardrobe will enjoy the under garments, etc. (and the lead's hairdo is virtually a siganture in itself). The story is a little shaky morally, cutting despicable people a little too much slack and blithely gliding over at least one real crime. But it does move along well and, if not really "Mad Men" in tone, does share that series' ability to recreate an era little known to many today.