CAIRO: Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry says archaeologists have uncovered part of an ancient cemetery near the country’s famed pyramids on the Giza plateau just outside Cairo.
Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, says Saturday the cemetery houses burial shafts and tombs of top officials and a fine limestone statue from the Old Kingdom’s Fifth Dynasty (2465-2323 B.C.).
Ashraf Mohi, the head of the Giza Plateau archaeological site, says scientists know that the cemetery had been reused extensively in the Late Period (664-332 B.C.), as archaeologists found painted and decorated wooden anthropoid coffins, and wooden and clay funerary masks from that period.
Egypt has touted a series of archaeological finds recently, hoping such discoveries will spur tourism, which suffered a major setback during the unrest that followed the 2011 uprising.
Egypt says ancient cemetery found at Giza famed pyramids
Egypt says ancient cemetery found at Giza famed pyramids
REVIEW: ‘Shrinking’ season three flounders but Harrison Ford still shines
DUBAI: In its first two seasons, “Shrinking” offered a smartly written, emotionally intelligent look at loss, therapy and the general messiness of human connection through the story of grieving therapist Jimmy (Jason Segel) — whose wife died in a tragic accident — and the village of flawed but recognizably human characters helping to heal him. Season three struggles to move forward with the same grace and thoughtfulness. It’s as though, encouraged by early praise, it has started believing its own hype.
For those familiar with co-creator Bill Lawrence’s other juggernaut, “Ted Lasso,” it’s a painfully familiar trajectory. That comedy also floundered in its third season. Emotional moments were resolved too quickly in favor of bits and once-complex characters were diluted into caricatures of themselves. “Shrinking” looks like it’s headed in the same direction.
The season’s central theme is “moving forward” — onward from grief, onward from guilt, and onward from the stifling comfort of the familiar. On paper, this is fertile ground for a show that deftly deals with human emotions. Jimmy is struggling with his daughter’s impending move to college and the loneliness of an empty nest, while also negotiating a delicate relationship with his own father (Jeff Daniels). Those around him are also in flux.
But none of it lands meaningfully. The gags come a mile a minute and the actors overextend themselves trying to sound convincing. They’ve all been hollowed out to somehow sound bizarrely like each other.
Thankfully, there is still Harrison Ford as Paul, the gruff senior therapist grappling with Parkinson’s disease who is also Jimmy’s boss. His performance is devastatingly moving — one of his best — and the reason why the show can still be considered a required watch. Michael J. Fox also appears as a fellow Parkinson’s patient, and the pair are an absolute delight to watch together.
A fourth season has already been greenlit. Hopefully, despite its quest to keep moving forward, the show pauses long enough to find its center again. At its best, “Shrinking” is a deeply moving story about the pleasures and joys of community, and we could all use more of that.
