Today's Entertainment

Page 2 April 27 - May 3, 2015 HBO's 'Casual Vacancy' beautifully acted but bleak By John Crook © Zap2it Don't look for any boy wiz- ards, giants or Hippogriffs in "The Casual Vacancy." Author J.K. Rowling keeps her first non-"Harry Potter" novel firmly anchored in the all-too-real world of recog- nizably human characters in a tale that is gripping, com- passionate yet often almost unbearably downbeat. Those qualities translate to the three-part, three-hour miniseries adaptation pre- miering Wednesday and Thursday, April 29 and 30, on HBO, with one added bonus: It's brilliantly acted by a su - perb cast. Set in what seems to be a postcard-pretty English village called Pagford, the story quickly reveals that this community is sharply divided along class lines. A battle is shaping up over the future of a local community center that houses a methadone clinic serving the drug-addict - ed lower classes. Wealthier residents — including parish council chairman Howard Mollison (Michael Gambon) and his sunny but malicious wife, Shirley (Julia McKenzie) — would love nothing more than to close the center and turn the country house that contains it into a chic spa. Their chief adversary on the council in this regard is Barry Fairbrother (Rory Kinnear), whose boundless empathy for Pagford's poor serves as the beating heart of the village. Unfortunately, it's his brain that betrays him in the opening moments of the miniseries, as Barry suddenly drops dead of a cerebral an - eurysm. Barry's death opens a "casual vacancy" — an unex - pected empty seat — on the council, and while Howard and Shirley halfheartedly tut-tut over Barry's passing, inwardly they're gleeful: If they can fill this seat with their spineless son, Miles (Rufus Jones), they'll have the ma - jority they need to close the clinic. The urgency to keep that clinic open is embodied by lo- cal teenager Krystal Weedon (newcomer Abigail Lawrie in a star-is-born turn), who is struggling to care for her baby brother while their mother (Keeley Forsyth) spends every dime she can find on heroin. Sadly, the only viable candidate to oppose Miles is hapless schoolteacher Colin "Cubby" Wall (Simon McBurney), a walking collec - tion of social disorders and neuroses. As the election approach - es, any pretense toward neighborliness falls away as the class-driven rift widens even further. When the dust finally settles, few are left happy — including, perhaps, some viewers. This is not a drama that will send you off to bed with a smile. Bursting with eccentric, viv - idly drawn characters in a sto- ry with a social conscience, Rowling's "Casual Vacancy" is in some respects a throw - back to the novels of Charles Dickens. And like many Dick- ens adaptations, the piece gives some splendid actors a chance to shine. Gambon, who played the sage Dumbledore in several of the Potter film adaptations, makes Howard both danger- ous and somewhat buffoonish, while McKenzie brilliantly plays against her sweet little old Miss Marple image to make Shirley truly chilling. Cast against type as their brassy, bitter daughter- in-law, former ingénue Keeley Hawes, now 38, serves notice that she's ready for much harder-edged roles. "The Casual Vacancy" will reward fans of great acting, if they can cope with some truly bleak moments. She's been a staple of primetime television for so long, some may not think about Betty White's ties to shows that have aired at earlier hours. Those who oversee the Daytime Emmy Awards have, though ... and that's why the long-beloved performer will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 42nd ceremony. Staged at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif., the annual event returns to TV (having been an online-only offering last year) when it has its first Pop telecast Sunday, April 26. Tyra Banks will serve as host. After getting her daytime-TV start locally in Los Angeles more than 65 years ago, White won the first of her six Emmys to date for her first comedy show ("Life With Elizabeth"), then became a daily NBC talk-program host. She then made a mark as a guest on game shows including "Password" – hosted by her late husband, Allen Ludden – "To Tell the Truth" and "Match Game," and she earned a Daytime Emmy for hosting NBC's "Just Men!" Additionally, White has been a drama guest ("The Bold and the Beautiful," "Another World") and event host (The Tournament of Roses Parade, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade) in the morning and afternoon. "We did a show five-and-a-half hours a day, six days a week for four years," the perennially pleasant White recalls of her first job in daytime. "Whatever you did, you did it there. And five-and-a-half hours a day wasn't enough, so I also had an evening show where I did songs and that kind of thing. "Anyone or anything that was in town automatically came through our show," adds White, "so you met some fascinating people and felt you were in on stuff. Let's face it, it's an interesting way to spend your life ... and I do appreciate it." White also appreciates what she learned doing game shows: "You have to respect them. You can't say, 'Oh, this is just a game show.' If you're going to do it, play the game as hard as you can and really participate. The audience picks up on it immediately if you don't respect the game. You listen to what the host and the other guests say, and I think that's what keeps the game going." Now done filming the soon-to-conclude "Hot in Cleveland" for TV Land -- which just saluted her at its own awards - - White is proud to be honored for her daytime work that stands beside her roles on such primetime classics as "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "The Golden Girls." "I can't even tell you," White enthuses. "Sure, it's an ego trip, but we're in an ego business. I'm really thrilled. Seriously thrilled." Daytime Emmys celebrate Betty White BY JAY BOBBIN Abigail Lawrie stars in "Casual Vacancy," premiering Wednesday on HBO.

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