As Time Goes By

With Psycho remakes and Gone With the Wind follow-ups clanking fast and loose in Hollywood, why not write a novelized prequel/sequel to Casablanca? And why not have Rick Blaine unmasked as...Yitzik Baline, a Jewish gangster from East Harlem! (You must remember this/A bris is just a bris....) Former TIME music writer Michael Walsh applied himself vigorously to As Time Goes By, a thankless assignment — don't miss his lengthy, exculpatory afterword — layering on enough shoot-outs, flashbacks, historical cameos (including Mae West), and confusing subplots to plump out several days' worth of miniseries. But the opinion of one critic doesn't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.... C+