{"id":22840,"date":"2022-06-10T11:34:02","date_gmt":"2022-06-10T15:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/?p=22840"},"modified":"2022-06-10T11:34:02","modified_gmt":"2022-06-10T15:34:02","slug":"streaming-review-going-home-on-pure-flix-coming-attractions-for-june-and-july","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2022\/06\/streaming-review-going-home-on-pure-flix-coming-attractions-for-june-and-july.html","title":{"rendered":"Streaming Review: &#8220;Going Home&#8221; on Pure Flix + Coming Attractions for June and July"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<h3><strong>Here&#8217;s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media &amp; culture: 06\/10\/22<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong><em>Going Home<\/em> currently streaming on Pure Flix. <\/strong>Created and executive produced by <strong>Dan Merchant<\/strong>, the drama series stars as <strong>Cynthia Geary (Northern Exposure)<\/strong> as Charley Copeland who leads the dedicated staff of the Sunset House hospice as they do their human best to assist dying patients and their loved ones during their emotional time of transition. The streamer is releasing new episodes weekly for six weeks. My review follows the trailer. <strong>Note:<\/strong> You can actually check out the episode for free <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pureflix.com\/movie\/going-home\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Going Home | Official Series Trailer\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kWMx5IyeZtI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>IMHO: <\/strong>A TV dramedy about the interaction between staff, patients and their loved ones at a hospice is both an intriguing and risky premise. It needs just the right combination of character development, compassionate drama (without becoming maudlin) and, very importantly, humor that remains respectful of the subject matter. Done right and you could have a show that captures the best elements of broadcast classics from the past such as <strong><em>Providence<\/em><\/strong> or <strong><em>M*A*S*H<\/em><\/strong>. From the one episode I watched, I&#8217;d say that<em> Going Home<\/em> shows promise but isn&#8217;t quite there &#8211; but, hey, it took <em>M*A*S*H<\/em> a couple years to really find its voice. This particular installment (of the six currently available on Pure Flix) features 88-year-old TV\/movie vet <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tom_Skerritt\"><strong>Tom Skerritt<\/strong><\/a> (who was in the original <em>M*A*S*H<\/em> movie) as an elderly man doing his best as his wife (played by <strong>Sharva Maynard<\/strong>) prepares for her transition to the next life. It was a little slow but, essentially, it worked and was reasonably believable &#8211; but you can&#8217;t keep telling that story over and over again.<\/p>\n<p>Future episodes, I think, will have to rely more on building on the show&#8217;s ensemble cast and their individual lives as well as a mix of patients and families with very different stories and lifestyles. While I appreciate and agree with the show&#8217;s overall Christian sensibility, I think a show like this needs to go very easy on the dogma and clearly embrace the Christian virtue of non-judgmentalism. BTW, as an idea for say a season-long story arc, producers might find inspiration in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/01\/23\/health\/23brody.html\">true story of Art Buchwald<\/a>, the famed humorist who died in 2007 after a hospice stay that extended much longer than the three-weeks his doctors initially estimated.<\/p>\n<p>Regarding the regular cast, as I suggested, they generally need more to do but <strong>Cynthia Geary<\/strong> as head nurse Charlie Copeland certainly makes for an appealing and relatable lead. As the episode ends, we see her alone on her porch talking to God and reflecting on her day. I like that. To me it works as a sort of heartfelt weekly signature scene similar to the way <strong><em>Doogie Howser, M.D. <\/em><\/strong>(another golden oldie from TV&#8217;s past) used to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mHEh1oK6hb0\">sign off each episode by summing up his thoughts on his then somewhat cutting-edge personal computer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bottom Line: Don&#8217;t pull the plug on this. There&#8217;s a lot of positive potential here.<br \/>\n___<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And keep an eye out for&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The documentary<em><strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.neveragainthemovie.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Never Again<\/a><\/strong><\/em>\u00a0follows the parallel journeys of a Holocaust survivor (<strong>Irving Roth<\/strong>) and a devout Muslim who was radicalized as a teenager (<strong>Kasim Hafeez<\/strong>). As they share their stories and ultimate friendship, we see that even the darkness of antisemitism can be overcome by seeing one another as individuals and choosing love over hate. <strong>Distributed through\u00a0Cinedigm, the film is available on demand and digital via Apple, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu and other outlets. The DVD is due on June 21st. <\/strong><a href=\"\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2020\/10\/never-again-is-an-important-documentary-a-dissident-from-china-has-a-message-for-america.html\">Here&#8217;s my original review<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Never Again? Trailer: CUFI&#039;s Holocaust Documentary\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4adWMewwPFQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sony Pictures&#8217; <em>Father Stu,<\/em> starring and produced by Mark Wahlberg, is out\u00a0 on Blu-ray and DVD on June 14th.<\/strong> The film tells the uplifting true story of<strong> Stuart Long<\/strong> (Wahlberg), a former amateur boxer and would-be actor who, after surviving a horrific motorcycle accident, comes to the startling conviction that he&#8217;s being called to become a priest.\u00a0 Amid the skepticism of church officials (including a monsignor portrayed by <strong>Malcolm McDowell<\/strong>) and his estranged parents (<strong>Mel Gibson<\/strong> and <strong>Jacki Weaver<\/strong>), he persists with courage and compassion, inspiring others while also facing a devastating health diagnosis. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2022\/04\/movie-review-father-stu-fox-news-ratings-success-disneys-disaster.html\">My original review here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"FATHER STU \u2013 Extended Preview\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0HbZIMZSwf0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/spiritualhelpline.com\/stay-prayed-up\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><em><strong>Stay Prayed Up<\/strong><\/em><\/a> tells the story of 83-year old gospel signer <strong>Lena Mae Perry<\/strong>\u00a0 who has spent the last 50 years as the steadfast leader of <strong>The Branchettes,<\/strong> a legendary North Carolina gospel group that has packed churches throughout the South and lifted hearts as far away as Ireland. The documentary follows the ensemble while they record their first live album as it also chronicles &#8220;Mother&#8221; Perry&#8217;s efforts to extend the group&#8217;s sacred song ministry ever forward. <strong>Following a limited release in theaters on June 17th, the documentary comes to home entertainment on\u00a0 July 5th.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Stay Prayed Up | Official Trailer\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EWp4bx76ZaQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Finally, if you&#8217;re in the mood for a feel-good scripted comedy, <strong>Bryan Cranston<\/strong> and <strong>Annette Bening<\/strong> are starring in <b><i>Jerry and Marge Go Large <\/i>dropping <\/b><strong>June 17th on Paramount+<\/strong>. The film is inspired by the true story of retiree <strong>Jerry Selbee<\/strong> (Cranston) who discovered a mathematical loophole in the Massachusetts lottery and, with the help of his wife <strong>Marge<\/strong> (Annette Bening), won millions and used the money to revive their small Michigan town. Their story <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=oM5tNOr641g\">was featured on <em><strong>60 Minutes<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 <strong>Rated PG-13<\/strong> for some language and suggestive references,\u00a0 the stellar cast also includes <strong>Larry Wilmore<\/strong> and <strong>Rainn Wilson<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Jerry &amp; Marge Go Large Trailer #1 (2022) | Movieclips Trailers\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nzW6Jy2F3mw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>End Note.<\/strong> I&#8217;m taking a bit of time off to regroup and to work on a TV project that I hope to be able to tell you about soon and that I believe will be of interest to <strong>Beliefnet<\/strong> readers. In the meantime, <strong>Happy Independence Day and see you on Monday, July 25!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span class=\"st\">Encourage one another and build each other up &#8211; <\/span><\/em><span class=\"st\">1 Thessalonians 5:11<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media &amp; culture: 06\/10\/22 Going Home currently streaming on Pure Flix. Created and executive produced by Dan Merchant, the drama series stars as Cynthia Geary (Northern Exposure) as Charley Copeland who leads the dedicated staff of the Sunset House hospice as they do their human best to&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":225,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[619,9,1085,15,16,24,25,31,1],"tags":[13708,4739,13735,5237,13714,13711,10131,10137,12946,13738,13741,10134,13744,13729,13373,2250,267,13747,13723,13717,13726,13732,13720],"class_list":["post-22840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anti-semitism","category-christianity","category-forgiveness","category-history","category-humor","category-movies","category-music","category-television","category-uncategorized","tag-going-home-on-pure-flix","tag-60-minutes","tag-annette-bening","tag-bryan-cranston","tag-cynthia-geary","tag-dan-merchant","tag-documentary-never-again","tag-irving-roth","tag-jacki-weaver","tag-jerry-and-marge-go-large","tag-jerry-selbee","tag-kasim-hafeez","tag-larry-wilmore","tag-lena-mae-perry","tag-malcolm-mcdowell","tag-mark-wahlberg","tag-mel-gibson","tag-rainn-wilson","tag-sharva-maynard","tag-sony-pictures-father-stu","tag-stay-prayed-up","tag-the-branchettes","tag-tom-skerritt"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Streaming Review: &quot;Going Home&quot; on Pure Flix + Coming Attractions for June and July<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2022\/06\/streaming-review-going-home-on-pure-flix-coming-attractions-for-june-and-july.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Streaming Review: &quot;Going Home&quot; on Pure Flix + Coming Attractions for June and July\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here&#8217;s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media &amp; culture: 06\/10\/22 Going Home currently streaming on Pure Flix. Created and executive produced by Dan Merchant, the drama series stars as Cynthia Geary (Northern Exposure) as Charley Copeland who leads the dedicated staff of the Sunset House hospice as they do their human best to&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2022\/06\/streaming-review-going-home-on-pure-flix-coming-attractions-for-june-and-july.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith, Media &amp; Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-10T15:34:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John W. Kennedy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Streaming Review: \"Going Home\" on Pure Flix + Coming Attractions for June and July","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2022\/06\/streaming-review-going-home-on-pure-flix-coming-attractions-for-june-and-july.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Streaming Review: \"Going Home\" on Pure Flix + Coming Attractions for June and July","og_description":"Here&#8217;s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media &amp; culture: 06\/10\/22 Going Home currently streaming on Pure Flix. Created and executive produced by Dan Merchant, the drama series stars as Cynthia Geary (Northern Exposure) as Charley Copeland who leads the dedicated staff of the Sunset House hospice as they do their human best to&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2022\/06\/streaming-review-going-home-on-pure-flix-coming-attractions-for-june-and-july.html","og_site_name":"Faith, Media &amp; Culture","article_published_time":"2022-06-10T15:34:02+00:00","author":"John W. Kennedy","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2022\/06\/streaming-review-going-home-on-pure-flix-coming-attractions-for-june-and-july.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2022\/06\/streaming-review-going-home-on-pure-flix-coming-attractions-for-june-and-july.html","name":"Streaming Review: \"Going Home\" on Pure Flix + Coming Attractions for June and July","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-06-10T15:34:02+00:00","dateModified":"2022-06-10T15:34:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/e5d5ef9caeb6b01bcbf08ca6de6591c2"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2022\/06\/streaming-review-going-home-on-pure-flix-coming-attractions-for-june-and-july.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2022\/06\/streaming-review-going-home-on-pure-flix-coming-attractions-for-june-and-july.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2022\/06\/streaming-review-going-home-on-pure-flix-coming-attractions-for-june-and-july.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Streaming Review: &#8220;Going Home&#8221; on Pure Flix + Coming Attractions for June and July"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/","name":"Faith, Media &amp; Culture","description":"Beliefnet Voices - John W. Kennedy","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/e5d5ef9caeb6b01bcbf08ca6de6591c2","name":"John W. Kennedy","description":"John W. Kennedy is the founder and Dir. of Development of The Creative Universe Entertainment\u2122, a media consultation and development company focusing on the creation, development and support of high-quality mainstream entertainment that upholds positive timeless values, including trust in God. Current projects include \"Bryant Park\" (an uplifting romantic-comedy) and \"Photo Finish\" (an award-winning sci-fi TV pilot). He has written over 100 children's novels based on episodes of the Cartoon Network series \"Ben 10\", \"Ben 10: Alien Force\", \"Ben 10: Ultimate Alien\", \"Ben 10: Omniverse\" and \"Generator Rex\" among others. He also writes Beliefnet\u2019s \"Faith, Media &amp; Culture\" blog. Previously, he has produced successful news and talk programming for CNN, Fox News, Pax TV and SiriusXM. Specialties: Script Writing, Movie\/TV Novelizations &amp; Adaptations, TV Content Creation and Development, Creative Consultation, Producing and Booking News and Talk shows. He can be reached for writing, producing and consulting services at 516-640-1182.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/author\/jkennedy"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/225"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22840"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22993,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22840\/revisions\/22993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}