‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents’ Season 3 (1957-58) goes out like a lion
On a Hitchcock kick (TV review): The director teams with writer Roald Dahl for one of TV’s great instances of macabre humor, “Lamb to the Slaughter.”
Television
‘Dain Curse’ (1978), Hammett’s most emotional novel, gets miniseries treatment
Sleuthing Sunday (TV review): Although he doesn’t resemble Hammett’s description, James Coburn makes an appealing screen version of the Continental Op.
A baffling mystery: Why has there never been a Continental Op TV series?
Sleuthing Sunday (TV commentary): One obscure half-hour episode from 1995 features Hammett’s prolific detective, and teases what we could have over the course of a full series.
‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents’ Season 2 (1956-57) explores flickering morals
On a Hitchcock kick (TV review): The Master of Suspense directs two stories of murder cover-ups and one of an overactive imagination.
‘Cobra Kai’ Season 6, Part 3 ties the belt on Johnny’s journey
TV review: The final five-episode batch of the 65-episode series has some wildly illegal punches, but ultimately lands a winning kick.
‘RoboDoc’ (2023) has one directive: Go in-depth on 1987’s ‘RoboCop’
‘RoboCop’ redux (TV review): This four-episode crowd-funded series gathers interviews with almost every living cast and crew member on the 1987 classic.
‘RoboCop’ returns to factory settings with ‘Prime Directives’ (2001)
‘RoboCop’ redux (TV review): This four-episode miniseries abandons the saga’s directive to draw in kids, but unfortunately, that’s a rare high point.
Hero further decreases in stature with ‘RoboCop’ TV series (1994)
‘RoboCop’ redux (TV review): The taming of the gloriously over-the-top concept continues as “RoboCop” moves to the small screen.
‘Poirot’ Season 11 (2008-09) runs into adaptation challenges
Sleuthing Sunday (TV review): Despite some bizarre scripting choices, the series’ production values have never been higher.
‘Poirot’ Season 10 (2005-06) a mix of smart and ill-advised alterations
Sleuthing Sunday (TV review): Rewriting of Christie’s words helps one story and hurts another in this season when Ariadne Oliver makes her debut.