Rueben's Ramblings

The BBC America 2-part mini-series Spies of Warsaw will debut on April 3 at 9 PM.

French and German intelligence operatives are locked in a life-and-death struggle in the espionage arena. At the French embassy, a decorated war hero of the 1914 war, Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier (David Tennant from Doctor Who), is sucked into a world of abduction, betrayal and international intrigue from the diplomatic salons to the back alleys of Warsaw. Mercier simultaneously finds himself in a passionate love affair with Anna (Janet Montgomery from Made in Jersey), a Parisian lawyer for the League of Nations. Their complicated love affair intensifies as German tanks drive through the Black Forest.

NOTE: The second part of this mini-series will air on April 10.

Here is a trailer for Spies of Warsaw.

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The four-hour mini-series Ben Hur will debut on Ovation on March 31 at 8 PM.

Based on the novel “Ben-Hur: A tale of Christ” by Lew Wallace follows Judah Ben Hur (Joseph Morgan from The Vampire Diaries), a wealthy Jewish prince who is betrayed by his childhood friend, Messala. Eventually enslaved, Ben Hur becomes a hero when he saves the life of a Roman leader and soon receives new wealth and power. His quest, though, is to deliver vengeance upon Messala for the destruction of the Ben Hur family. During his journey for redemption, Ben Hur challenges his foe to a chariot race to the death. The mini-series will air during an Easter weekend programming event.

The cast includes Emily VanCamp (Revenge), Stephen Campbell Moore (Titanic mini-series), Kristin Kreuk (Beauty And the Beast), Simon Andreu (The Cold Light of Day), Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey), James Faulkner (Bridget Jones’ Diary), Alex Kingston (Doctor Who), Ray Winstone (Great Expectations), Kris Holden-Ried (Lost Girl) and Ben Cross (William & Kate).

NOTE: This movie was originally to be released in 2010 before Morgan landed his role on The Vampire Diaries; before Revenge or Beauty And the Beast (for which VanCamp and Kruek are in the lead roles, of course) were picked up by ABC and The CW respectively; before Downton Abbey (which stars Bonneville) became the international sensation for which it has become and right before the debut of Lost Girl (which stars Holden-Ried) debuted in Canada.

Here is the trailer for Ben Hur.

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The PBS Masterpiece Classic mini-series Mr. Selfridge will begin on March 31 at 9 PM.

Jeremy Piven (Entourage) will star in the real-life story of Harry Gordon Selfridge, the flamboyant and visionary American founder of the famous London department store that revolutionized the modern shopping experience.

NOTE: This mini-series will run every week until May 19.

Here is a trailer for Mr. Selfridge.

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The second season of Call the Midwife will air on PBS Masterpiece Classic on March 31 at 8 PM.

Based on the best-selling memoirs of the late Jennifer Worth will find the continuing story of the midwives and nuns of Nonnatus House into 1950s East End London.

NOTE: This mini-series will run every week until May 19.

Here is a trailer for season two of Call the Midwife.

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On March 25 and March 26, the new mini-series Barabbas will air on Reelz Channel at 9 PM on both nights

Billy Zane stars in the lead role of this special Easter TV event inspired by the novel by Par Lagerkvist that is rooted in the Bible about the man whose life was spared because of the death of Jesus Christ.

NOTE: The first part of the mini-series will reair at 11:30 PM on March 25 while the second part will reair at 11 PM on March 26.

Here is a trailer for Barabbas.

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The Lifetime original movie Romeo Killer: The Chris Porco Story will debut on March 23 at 8 PM.

In the quiet town of Delmar, New York 21-year-old Chris Porco (Matt Barr from The Hatfield & McCoys) was accused of brutally murdering his father Peter and disfiguring his mother Joan (Lolita Davidovich) in a savage axe attack, a claim made all the more shocking when the case’s lead detective Joe Sullivan (Eric McCormack from Will & Grace and Perception) believed Joan had identified Chris as her attacker. Weeks after the crime, however, Joan would refute Detective Sullivan’s story, while the town of Delmar and many of Chris’ former friends and girlfriends would also rally to his defense, despite Sullivan’s fierce mission to prove his guilt. Prosecutors believed that beneath Chris’ picture-perfect facade was a devious and cunning sociopath who would stop at nothing to keep his lies hidden.

Here is a trailer for Romeo Killer: The Chris Porco Story.

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On March 23, the movie Shadow on the Mesa will debut on the Hallmark Movie Channel at 8 PM.

Bounty hunter Wes Rawlins (Wes Brown from Deception) is a man of few words and the American West’s quickest draw. A silent but calculatingly honest man, Wes is devastated when his mother is brutally murdered by a couple of outlaws who are still on the run. Determined to solve the crime and bring justice to his family, Wes leaves his adopted grandparents (Meredith Baxter and Barry Corbin) and sets off to find the father he never knew, a rancher named Ray Eastman (Kevin Sorbo from Andromeda and Hercules). Ray is in the midst of an increasingly bloody feud with a corrupt neighbor, Pete Dowdy (Greg Evigan), who greedily wants to take all of Ray’s land. As Wes gets to know his father and two half-siblings, Ray’s deceitful wife, Mona (Gail O’Grady from NYPD Blue) holds a secret that fuels the war to a colossal final showdown. When Wes jumps in to defend his new family, he learns the truth behind his mother’s murder and soon his life will never be the same.

Here is the trailer for Shadow on the Mesa.

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