Mildred Pierce

The opening scene in the first episode of Mildred Pierce, a new mini-series on HBO, features a woman's hands pouring pie filling into a homemade pie crust and frosting a cake. The kitchens walls were creamy yellow, punctuated by the Depression-era fabrics of her dress, apron and curtains. I was hooked from that minute forward.

Based on a 1940's book and movie, HBO's mini-series delivers five episodes (each roughly one hour) involving single mother Mildred Pierce and her quest to make a life for her daughters, much to the embarassment of her ungrateful, class-obsessed eldest daughter. Mildred's choices make for a long and heavy drama peppered with tragedies and triumph. Put it in your Neflix queue for a future rainy day and travel back in time to see how single women brought home the bacon in Depression-era California.