Netflix launches the ambitious four-part miniseries adaptation of “All the Light We Cannot See.” Based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling novel by Anthony Doerr set during World War II, it stars relative newcomer Aria Mia Loberti as Marie-Laure, a blind French girl, first seen stranded in the Nazi occupied city of Saint-Malo.
She’s terrified by the American bombs raining down on the city, where the Germans have sealed up the area and prevented escape. She’s also worried about the disappearance of her father, Daniel (Mark Ruffalo).
In flashbacks, we learn that Daniel had been in charge of a Paris museum, where he handled everything from dinosaur relics to priceless jewels. They’re seen smuggling some to safety as they evacuate Paris in the wake of the city’s 1940 German occupation.
Once in Saint-Malo, Marie-Laure is put in charge of radio broadcasts, reading passages from novels using Braille editions. The Nazis suspect that her nightly tales are actually secret code, guiding allied bombers to their targets. Marie-Laure sees herself following in the path of a mysterious radio personality known only as the Professor, whose broadcasts she followed for years, listening to his uplifting stories about science, culture, truth and light. Introduced with a passage from Debussy’s “Clair de Lune,” the Professor’s dispatches offered a beacon of hope as Europe descended into darkness.
Parallel to her story is that of Werner Pfennig (Louis Hofmann), a brilliant young boy plucked from his obscure orphanage by Nazi authorities because of his facility with electronics and ability to cobble together radio receivers from cast-off scraps.
Ordered by the Gestapo to track down Marie-Laure and stop her broadcasts, he’s secretly enchanted by her radio exploits. Like her, he grew up listening to the Professor.
Lars Eidinger stars as Reinhold, a far less sympathetic German soldier. He’s assigned to find the jewels that Daniel smuggled out of the museum, and he’s not above roughing up a blind girl to get them.
Look for a bearded Hugh Laurie as Etienne LeBlanc, a wounded WWI veteran and Marie-Laure’s uncle.
Having not read Doerr’s book, I can’t comment on what made it so popular and acclaimed. The story that unfolds in this miniseries is handsomely produced, but rather romantic and simplistic, more like the adaptation of a graphic novel, comic book or something written for the young adult market.
With the exception of Werner, almost all of the Germans are written as stock villains. In his few flashback scenes, Ruffalo’s Daniel seems more like the Wizard of Oz than a flesh-and-blood father. As he escorts her through a museum’s corridors or constructs a model of Paris to show her how to walk sightlessly through its streets, he affects a breathless, exalted wonder. He often sounds more like Keanu Reeves than the terrified father of a blind girl.
That’s not to take away from Loberti’s strong performance as the heroine, rising to the occasion under the most gruesome circumstances.
— The music-driven series “Kingdom Business” streams its second season on BET+.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— False reports obscure the investigation into a doctor’s murder on “Law & Order” (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
— Sparks fly as eight machines meet on “Battlebots” (8 p.m., Discovery, TV-PG). From Las Vegas.
— The Steelers host the Titans in Thursday Night Football action (8:15 p.m.), streaming on Prime Video.
— A politician attracts attention after a male stripper expires at her bachelorette party in the 2017 comedy “Rough Night” (9 p.m., Starz Encore).
— Bash bickers with a superior on “Transplant” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— A training exercise may be a ruse on the fifth season premiere of “SEAL Team” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
A husband (Richard Gere) becomes violent after he discovers his wife’s (Diane Lane) infidelity in the 2002 drama “Unfaithful” (8 p.m., Sho2).
SERIES NOTES
“Buddy Games” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) concludes … “Hell’s Kitchen” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14) … “The Golden Bachelor” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
“Big Brother” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … “Lego Masters” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … “Bachelor in Paradise” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-14) … “Dateline” (10 p.m., NBC, r).
LATE NIGHT
Pete Buttigieg and Willie Nelson are booked on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., CBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Cailee Spaeny and Sheryl Crow on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC).
Mariah Carey, Alex Edelman and Allison Russell appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (11:35 p.m., ABC) … Kim Coles, Godfrey, Dennis Miller and John Roy appear on “Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen” (12:35 a.m., CBS, r).
