TELEVISION TIP

Trivia at St. Nick’s

Hallmark Channel

Any more, it’s not particularly newsworthy to say a Hallmark Christmas movie was filmed in southeastern Connecticut. Seems like they’re ALL filmed in southeastern Connecticut (and it’s true that the village of Mystic is now only open to the public four weeks a year because the rest of the time it’s closed down to film Hallmark Christmas movies). HOWEVER! “Trivia at St. Nick’s,” which premiered last week on Hallmark, was filmed mostly on the Connecticut College campus. The plot is focused on faculty members at a Vermont (?) college who stay on campus during the holiday break and participate in an ongoing Christmas trivia contest at a local bar. Thrown together by necessity, a female astronomy professor must reluctantly play on the same team as one of the school’s football coaches. It’s great fun to hit PAUSE and say, “Hey, there’s (fill in name of building at Conn College or in New London!”). Extra points because the filmmakers include a ludicrously self-referential Hallmark Christmas Music trivia topic – and it’s easy pickings for the ex-Rhodes Scholar history prof who just LOVES Hallmark Christmas movies.

– Rick Koster

TV TIP

Trivia at St. Nick’s

Hallmark Channel

I don’t know that a Hallmark Channel movie requires a point-counterpoint, but here’s my reaction to “Trivia at St. Nick’s,” to complement my compadre Rick Koster’s opinion, featured above. If Connecticut College needs a recruitment campaign, it could do worse than just directing potential students to the Hallmark Channel’s latest holiday confection, “Trivia at St. Nick’s.” The flick was shot in large part at Conn College, and the campus looks storybook perfect. Granted, the school’s grounds and buildings are picturesque to begin with, but the Synthetic Cinema International production makes them shine even more. The story, meanwhile, has what Hallmark fans have come to expect, including a couple that bickers, not realizing they belong together. Here, it’s a tightly wound astronomy prof, who is all-in on the annual Christmas Bar Trivia Tournament. The guy she bickers with is a coach for the school’s football team, and he can provide some much-needed sports trivia help. “Trivia at St. Nick’s” stars Tammin Sursok and Brant Dougherty, both from “Pretty Little Liars.” “Trivia at St. Nick’s” airs at 2 p.m. Sunday, and check the Hallmark website for future times. Keep an eye out for scenes filmed elsewhere in the region, including at Lighthouse Inn in New London (the setting for the trivia contest).

– Kristina Dorsey

Escape at Dannemora

Netflix

I remember when this series came out on Showtime in 2018, I came real close to subscribing to the channel just to watch it. Instead, I played the long game, and six years later, lucky me. It tells the fascinating true story of a 2015 prison escape in upstate New York, and it is one of the best things I’ve seen on TV in a while. Benicio Del Toro and Paul Dano star as the two escapees, and Patricia Arquette is their prison worker accomplice. Del Toro is charismatic and menacing at the same time, while Dano’s best acting doesn’t even require dialogue. Arquette, who won a Golden Globe for her performance, is barely recognizable as sad-sack Tilly. The acting is great and the opening sequences of each of the eight parts are unique. The viewer never really knows who they’re supposed to be rooting for. Maybe nobody? The prisoners are convicted murderers, after all, and while Tilly isn’t a prisoner, her character traits are, um, less than ideal. The story is tense and gripping, and the music and camera work are next level. Ben Stiller directed all eight episodes and served as executive producer. If I had two more hands, I’d give this four thumbs up.

— Owen Poole