John Powers

Critic-at-large John Powers tells us about the TV shows, films, and books he didn't get to earlier this year, but wishes he had.

Ever since I was young, I've loved stories set in the far-flung reaches of the West's many empires — from the British Raj of E. M. Forster's A Passage to India to the surreal Vietnam of Apocalypse Now. And I still love them, though I now realize that they usually look at other cultures from the vantage point of outsiders, even intruders.

John Powers reviews two new series based on true crime stories. Dannemora dramatizes the story of a 2015 prison break. Dirty John follows the delusions and dangers of a woman falling for a conman.