It’s never easy living up to a legendary performance. That’s required of Kiefer Sutherland (“24”), starring as the troubled Capt. Philip Queeg in the 2023 adaptation of “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” (9 p.m. Sunday, Showtime, TV-14, directed by William Friedkin (“The Exorcist”).
Based on the play adapted by Herman Wouk from his Pulitzer-Prize-winning bestselling novel, the 1954 film version of the novel starred Humphrey Bogart in an indelible performance, one of his last, portraying Queeg as a sweating mess of a man, clicking marbles in his hands to calm his tremors.
For the uninitiated, “Mutiny” concerns the actions of Lt. Stephen Maryk (Jake Lacy), who relieved Queeg of duty when he feared he was having a breakdown that left him incapable of command as the ship faced a deadly typhoon.
The question of whether Maryk acted wisely or with insubordination is the focus of the trial and the subject of much belabored discussion, testimony and legalistic cross examination.
The words “Court Martial” in the film’s title tell you everything you need to know (or dread) about this production. Unlike the 1954 movie, which dramatized the events that led up to the legal showdown, Friedkin’s film, his last, is entirely limited to the courtroom.
The story and performances can be riveting, but it’s a curious irony that a director known for reinventing action movies and chase scenes with the 1971 thriller “The French Connection” should end his career with a film so devoid of movement.
While any courtroom drama can take on a timeless quality, the story is updated to our own times and the actions in question moved to the Persian Gulf in 2022. But this “Court Martial” seems both static and dated. Following the testimony, I found myself pondering a vintage courtroom light fixture — because there was often nothing much else to consider.
That said, Sutherland and the rest of the cast, including Jason Clarke as a defense attorney and Monica Raymund as opposing counsel, acquit themselves well.
The real problem with this “Mutiny” is not so much its stagey lack of dynamic motion but its appropriateness to our era.
Wouk’s novel arrived at the time of Norman Mailer’s “The Naked and the Dead” and James Jones’ “From Here to Eternity,” popular war novels that tried to make sense of World War II and its impact on both the men who fought it and society at large. The rebellion against Queeg symbolized a conflict between an established military command and the millions of civilian servicemen drafted into the conflict. This culture clash was explored in movies and TV dramas including “Mister Roberts” and “Ensign Pulver” and service comedies including “Sgt. Bilko” and “McHale’s Navy.”
The military and society’s relationship to it have changed drastically in the half-century since the draft was ended in 1973.
Not to give too much away, but there is a soliloquy about post-9/11 service shoehorned into the narrative rather late in the proceedings. But it fails to explain what this vintage military courtroom drama has to say to audiences in 2023.
— The 2023 documentary “Last Stop Larrimah” (9 p.m. Sunday, HBO, TV-MA) offers a quirky take on legendary murder mysteries and a brooding meditation on the dark side of “colorful” characters.
The town in the title is located in the remote Australian countryside, the perfect place for hippies to settle down and become aging eccentrics. One of them, a cantankerous Irishman name Paddy Moriarty, left the local pub in 2017 accompanied by his dog and was never seen again.
It’s hard to go missing in a town with only 11 residents. But that’s not counting the alligators. A tale of one neighbor weirder than the next, “Larrimah” offers proof from Down Under that Florida does not have a monopoly on strange shenanigans.
— For the second year running, Hulu offers a live stream of performances at the Austin City Limits music festival. Running since Friday and concluding Sunday, the event features performances by dozens of acts including Foo Fighters, Alanis Morissette, Mumford & Sons, Maggie Rogers, the Lumineers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and others.
Check Hulu’s “ACL” hub for concert times and archived performances.
SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— College football action includes Kentucky at Georgia (7 p.m., ESPN); Michigan at Minnesota (7:30 p.m., NBC/Peacock); Notre Dame at Louisville (7:30 p.m., ABC), Texas Tech at Baylor (7:30 p.m., ESPN2) and Fresno State at Wyoming (8 p.m., Fox).
— A missing teen shows up on a sordid online auction in the 2023 shocker “Buying Back My Daughter” (8 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
— An unsettled spirit plays matchmaker in the 2023 romance “3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— “60 Minutes” (7:30 p.m., CBS).
— Emma Stone stars in the 2021 crime comedy/fantasy “Cruella” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-14), elaborating on the diabolical fashion designer character from Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel “The Hundred and One Dalmatians,” later adapted as a 1961 Disney animated feature and a 1996 film starring Glenn Close as Cruella de Vil.
— The discovery of a policeman’s corpse complicates a drug investigation on “Professor T” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings).
— When a young woman vanishes abroad, an art student enlists her eccentric aunt for a search party in the 2023 shocker “The Venice Murders” (8 p.m., Lifetime, TV-PG).
— Chuck takes a desperate shot at Prince on “Billions” (8 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).
— The San Francisco 49ers host the Dallas Cowboys in “NFL Football” (8:15 p.m., NBC)
— John faces a new set of foes on “Yellowstone” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-MA).
— Evidence unravels on the season finale of “Unforgotten” on “Masterpiece” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings).
— Darryl ponders why he arrived in France on “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” (9 p.m., AMC, TV-MA).
— Signs of occult activity cloud a murder investigation “Van der Valk” on Masterpiece” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings) concludes its second season.
CULT CHOICE
Sporting his signature glasses and Cockney accent, Michael Caine portrays criminal-turned-secret-agent Harry Palmer in the 1965 thriller “The Ipcress File” (8 p.m., Sunday, TCM, TV-PG) and “Billion Dollar Brain” (10 p.m. Sunday, TCM, TV-PG). Based on characters created by novelist Len Deighton.
SATURDAY SERIES
Bingo from south of the border on “Lotteria Loca” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) … Pike faces down an ambush on “NCIS: Hawai’i” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … “48 Hours” (10 p.m., CBS).
SUNDAY SERIES
Marge dreads her empty nest years on “The Simpsons” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … Prometheus gets a break from his agony on “Krapopolis” (8:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
A new casserole causes a sensation on “Bob’s Burgers” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … Peter chafes at his new superiors on “Family Guy” (9:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14) … “Big Brother” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
