CSI Miami: A Fuelish Episode

Last night’s episode of CSI Miami, “Won’t Get Fueled Again” was just another insult in a long line of insults to the viewers’ intelligence.

The episode starts with a man burning to death at a beach party, which turns to a gas theft ring, and morphs into a human trafficking ring.

There were several things that were just outright ridiculous. First and foremost was the burning man, who seemed to be able to run several hundred feet, all while his body is being burned to a crisp. I found that just too hard to believe. I don’t think someone so consumed with fire can run that far, especially while weaving and tripping around so many obstacles. Also hard to believe is that no one – NO ONE – at that party ever made a move to help. Sure, the people in the CSI Miami universe are abnormally shallow, but still it seemed incredible.

Also in rare form was the ever-askew Horatio Caine (David Caruso). I laughed out loud when Caine, asks the new ME, Dr. Tara Price (Megalyn Echikunwoke), “What does the position tell you?” Of course, he was asking about the position of the body, but what made the question so funny is that Caine strikes his famous sideways pose just as he asks the question. Dr. Price should have answered, “The position tells me that you like to vamp for the camera!” Also, Caine’s voice seemed quite subdued in this episode, never raising much about a low whisper. But he didn’t fail with his trademark halting delivery of lines, asking party host Paul Sanders (Neil Jackson), “You are…..holding……an accelerant.”


Of course, the evidence is also ridiculously convenient. How is it that there is always – ALWAYS – a bank security camera in rage that has a perfect shot of the crime? How is it that the shots the camera gets can always be enlarged to get the license plate? Wasn’t it also nice that Calleigh just so happened to be in the right place at the right time when the Escalade they were trying to track down turned in front of her just as the BOLO was sent out? But, as fate would have it, there is ALWAYS a car or truck that gets in the way of the chase, and while Calleigh (Emily Procter) can drive at high speeds with one hand on the wheel, she can’t seem to drive around the stopped truck and continue the chase? No, she has to sit and watch it drive a way for a short while to mull over her mistake. And how lucky for the guy driving the Escalade, who manages to get his car on fire AND have it wiped down of fingerprints before Calleigh got there. But, on the flip side, how did Calleigh manage to empty the entire glove compartment but leave the giant fingernail that Wolfe’s (Jonanthan Togo) eagle eyes did not miss?

Of course, while suspects and criminals in the CSI Miami universe always look perfect, they are probably the dumbest in the country. They virtually never ask for a lawyer, and they confess at the slightest question or provocation. I can see it now:

Caine: We.....have some questions....for you.
Suspect: I did it! I murdered (fill in the blank)!

The one bright spot was the new ME, Dr. Tara Price, played by Megalyn Echikunwoke. I think she is a great improvement over ME Alexx Woods (Khandi Alexander), who, in my opinion, had a strange attachment to her victims, often calling them things like “baby boy” or “baby girl” and sometimes almost a too lovingly "handling" their bodies. It just seemed a little icky and unprofessional to me. Dr. Price, on the other hand, seems to be much more professional and a little less cold. I think it was a positive start. And she brought a real smile to Eric's (Adam Rodriguez) face.

But the series continues in its effort to dumb down the storylines, and the forensics. I’m thinking they should rename the show CSI For Dummies, don’t you?


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Mad Men “Six Month Leave” Full Of Contradictions

The episode of Mad Men “Six Month Leave” opens with Don Draper (Jon Hamm), banished from his home and staying in a hotel, reading the newspaper headline about Marilyn Monroe’s questionable death. Meanwhile, Betty (January Jones) is at home, seemingly falling deeper into what seems like depression. But the episode is really an excellent study of double standards and conflicting messages.

It seems that the women in the office are rattled by Monroe’s death, but the men seem indifferent, almost as if she deserved to die for the life she lived. Peggy (Elizabeth Moss) however, seems on the fence. She's partly sympathetic but also takes a businesslike approach to the matter, telling Don it’s a good thing that they didn’t go ahead with the Jackie/Marilyn Playtex ad campaign.

Pete (Vincent Kartheiser), Peggy, and Sal (Bryan Batt) are in Freddy’s (Joel Murray) office doing prep for an ad pitch. Freddy, however, urinated down his pant leg and doesn’t even seem to realize it. When it’s brought to his attention, he sits down and passes out, clearly from too much alcohol. The team goes ahead with the presentation without him, Peggt taking his place.

Betty is going through her routine day, defrosting the refrigerator and putting lining in her kitchen drawers. She seems rumpled and careless about how she looks. When a friend comes to Betty’s house to borrow a dress, Betty just says that she’s not feeling well. At the office, Jane (Peyton List) tips Don off that she’s aware that something is wrong at home, and Don snips at her that it’s personal and confidential. He’s clearly not pleased at the prospect of having his proverbial dirty laundry aired to the rest of the office.

Don is also unhappy when he’s called in to Roger Sterling’s (John Slattery) office and is ambushed by Pete and Duck (Mark Moses), who want Freddy fired. Don resists at first, but then relents after Roger tells Don that Freddy will be given a 6 months paid leave to dry out and possibly return. When the staff jokes about Freddy’s “accident” at the company blood drive, Don chastises them for their behavior. The next day, when all is done with Freddy, Don calls Peggy into his office and promotes her to take over Freddy’s accounts, but not after he expresses his disappointment that she let him get ambushed over the issue. Peggy, who seems conflicted about the promotion, expresses her displeasure with Pete, who seems unconcerned because after all, Peggy got a promotion out of it.

Betty decides to go out to the stables, runs into Arthur (Gabiel Mann). She asks about her friend, Sarah Beth (Missy Yager) and Arthur said he saw her. She suggested the go to lunch together to lift Sarah Beth spirits, and he agrees. As he leave, the smile on her face goes blank, then her face turns cold. Betty never shows up for the lunch, staying at home with the kids and taking the phone off the hook.

Don, spending some time with the kids, returns home and when the kids are put to bed, they argue about what to tell the kids. When Don suggests that he could just come home, she nixes that idea. She’s clearly still miffed at him.

Over dinner and lots of drinks, Don and Roger give Freddy the news about his job, then take him out gambling to an illegal casino set up, and they all continue to drink. Of course, so does Freddy, who earlier proclaimed he could turn if off when he wanted. But while Freddy is off on his own at the casino, Don and Roger sit at the bar, and Roger tells Don he knows what’s going on with Don’s marriage. But when Don spies Jimmy Barrett (Patrick Fischler) in the casino, he goes over to him and clocks him, and the Don, Roger, and Freddy make a quick exit.

After they send Freddy home in a cab, Don and Roger mull over their marriages at another bar. Don tells Roger that “it's your life” and that he might as well move forward. Later, Roger’s wife Mona (Talia Balsam) storms into Don’s office, saying that based on Don’s advice, Roger asked for a divorce. When he denies telling Roger to get a divorce, Mona asks that didn’t Don say, "It's your life, you have to move forward?" Don is stunned, and as Roger tries to calm Mona, Jane is at her desk, crying. When she also steps away, Don gives Roger a cold glare and tells Roger he wants Jane off his desk.

There are a lot of mixed signals going on here. First, everyone at Sterling Cooper drinks like fishes. But even when Freddy is clearly having trouble, some laugh about it, some use it against him, some want to help him. That’s fairly typical. But what is pathetic is that while Freddy is being fired for his drinking, they take him out for a night of drinking.

The clear division between how most of the women reacted to Marilyn Monroe’s death was also obvious. Many of the women in the office seemed to have become tearful or despondent over it, as if Marilyn’s death was not remotely her fault. The men, on the other had, seemed to think for the most part that it was expected, considering who she was and the life she led. In fact, this is very telling of the way men think of women in those days, even those to which they are married.

Betty’s problems are becoming more obvious, but I find myself wondering, is her problem a deepening depression over which she has no control, or is she allowing herself to wallow in her unhappiness with her life, or both? She seems to be going through the motions, as if she is trapped by her role as wife, rather than trying to pick herself up out of it. Maybe I have an advantage of growing up during the era when women were literally burning their bras; my expectations for what I could make out of my life were much higher. For someone like Betty, who already had two children and who lived in the culture where women had their place, maybe she felt that there was no place for her to go with her own life. Yet, we have someone like Peggy, who seems to be trying to keep high ethical standards, is continuing to move forward in a career in a company where a woman’s value isn’t respected.

Don. a man with deep secrets of his own, seems most vunerable with his own secretaries, who are more observant than he likes. But in the case of Jane, her apparent potential for leaking information to Roger is just too great, so she has to go. So he must remain as distant as possible, even seemingly to his own wife.

It goes without saying that everyone’s life on this show is a bit of a house of cards, which seems to be falling in a slow, deliberate collapse. The only question is, who’s going to be the first one to fall that will bring down everyone else tumbling down?




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Season Premier Hits and Misses

Quite a few shows had their season premiers this week. I’ve already written about CSI Miami (”Resurrection”) and CSI NY (”Veritas”) on this blog, but I thought I’d also give some attention to a few others that premiered this week. I also realized that I never turned on ABC for anything. At first I thought they didn’t have anything new, but then I realized that except for Lost, I don’t watch any ABC shows.

Law & Order SVU: “Trials”
I have a full recap for the season premier episode “Trials” on my blog All Things Law & Order. I also wanted to make note here that while the episode wasn’t bad, it really wasn’t anything special either. Most notable was the introduction of the new ADA Kim Grayleck (Michaela McManus). It was notable because it was awful. Her acting is wooden, maybe just a hair better than Elizabeth Rohm, who also played an ADA on Law & Order (the “mothership). It seems that they are making Grayleck purposefully annoying, portraying her as the competitive go-getter who thinks that she’s better than everyone else. It is made worse by her marginal acting. I hate to pass judgment so quickly, but you know what they say about first impressions...and my first impressions are usually right on target. I sense problems with McManus, hopefully the show won’t wait too long before they pull the plug on Grayleck.

The episode also continues to focus on the personal drama with Stabler (Chris Meloni) and Benson (Mariska Hargitay), and seems to put less emphasis on the actual crimes. It’s almost becoming a soap opera. I still like the characters, and the chemistry of the overall cast could be the best in the Law & Order franchise. But I would like to see more about the crimes and how they solve them, and less about things like Stabler’s troubled daughter and Olivia’s apparent post traumatic stress.

NCIS “Last Man Standing”

(NCIS Photos CBS)

The season premier of NCIS, “ Last Man Standing” picks up 126 days (according to the tally Abby (Pauley Perrette) was keeping) from the season finale when DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), Ziva (Cote de Pablo), and McGee (Sean Murray) were banished to other jobs outside NCIS. While Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) kept his position at NCIS, he was saddled with a new, and inexperienced staff.

Ziva, now back to being a Mossad agent, is working undercover singing in a cabaret style bar, and gets caught in a terrorist’s explosion, McGee is relegated to a basement area where he is “boss” of his own computer tech team. DiNozzo is stuck on a Navy ship, begging to get out.

They also have a new NCIS Director, Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll), who replaced the ever-annoying Jenny Shepard (Lauren Holly), who is now dead and buried (so I hope - you know how TV shows like to bring people back from the dead).

While investigating a murder, it becomes necessary for Director Vance to clue in Gibbs to the fact that he had to transfer Gibbs' people away for them to help Vance work on a case. It seems that there is a leak within NCIS and Vance thinks that one of the three new people he put to work under Gibbs is the culprit. Vance was hoping that somehow Gibbs would be able to pick up that something was wrong with one of them, his magical radar would go off and he would start to investigate. Now really, I think that was the dumbest, most convoluted way to get to the bottom of a leak.

The bottom line is that it seemed obvious in the fact that the show would not work well without Ziva, McGee, and especially DiNozzo, and that they wouldn't leave these people out of the loop and of the show for long. As the show ends, it’s only DiNozzo who hasn’t officially returned to the NCIS home base. But we have to expect he will.

Also glaringly obvious was that it was the woman with the law background who was the leak. Yes, they tried hard to make it look like it was someone else, but not hard enough. Still, the episode seemed to work better than most, and I am not exactly sure why. It may have had something to do with the fact that Ziva, McGee, and DiNozzo were on the screen but not necessarily together. We got less of their usual juvenile banter. It also could be that Director Shepard is gone. While new Director Vance also seems to have his own quirks, at least he isn’t slobbering all over Gibbs like Jenny used to. So the premier gets good marks from me, and I hope the show keeps it up.

Without A Trace: “Closure”
I’ve come to the conclusion that there are no happy men on television these days. They all have all kinds of “issues” and are filled with angst. The poster boy for “Troubled Male Leads” belongs to Jack Malone (Anthony LaPaglia). Every time he is on the screen, I feel like the life force is being sucked out of me. Malone is different from characters like House, for example, because House seems to actually have some sort of life and interests outside the confines of the hospital. Malone, however, seems like he lives and breathes the FBI, and not in a healthy way. Sure, he’s going through therapy, but it seems even his therapist (played by Linda Hunt) seems to want to run away from Malone every chance she gets.

The real drags on “Without A Trace” are the cases themselves. They seem the same every week. And so it was with the season premier, “Closure.” It was nothing new. Someone went missing, they investigated, they found them. This show needs more. According to ratings reports, it also needs viewers, as they dropped off significantly from last year’s season premier. It was probably due to the change in the day that the show airs. I don’t know why CBS keeps moving this show. This show either needs to get Malone on some happy pills, or they need to start feeding them to the writers.

ER: “Life After Death”
I haven’t watched ER regularly for quite some time. I may have only caught a few episodes last year when they went into reruns and nothing else was on. The season premier, “Life After Death” finishes off where the season finale left off – with an ambulance explosion. It seems that Dr. Pratt (Mekhi Phifer) was injured, although the extent wasn’t fully realized until they began working on him in the ER. Full disclosure here, I never like Pratt. Never. In fact, he was one of the characters that caused me to stop watching the show because I found him to not only be a terrible doctor, but just an all around annoying guy. So I wasn’t sorry when Pratt’s injuries proved to be fatal. The sad thing is, there isn’t much else redeeming in the episode or in the show’s cast that makes this show compelling. Too much time was spent on Pratt’s death, and on the mourning of his colleagues. Since all I recall is how much his colleagues hated to work with him, I almost found the Pratt tributes phony.

As far as the series is concerned, there is no drama left. It’s just a bunch of actors spewing out medical terms over a patient. This is being billed as ER’s final year, and that’s a good thing, because this show has been on life support for quite some time.

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CSI NY: “Veritas” Very Predictable

Photo from CBS

While CSI NY is far better than its Miami equivalent, it seems that the show is becoming routine, and also increasingly unrealistic It’s not just all the glitzy special effects, it’s how easy the crimes are to solve and how complex evidence can be just so conveniently available and analyzed so fast.

The season premier, “Veritas” picked up where the season finale, “Hostage” left off. But, while Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise) was being taken hostage by an apparent bank robber named Joe (Elias Koteas), something happened and Mac finds himself in a car that is sinking in deep water. He pulls himself out, and easily finds his way to a road, where he stops a passing car and enlists help from the woman behind its wheel. He proceeds to call Stella (Melina Kanakaredes) to give her his location.

When Stella and Flack (Eddie Cahill) arrive at the scene, they are told they can only take photographs as the Jersey police have claimed jurisdiction. As a body was also in the car and it has a connection with the bank crime, they have a little more information to go with. But it seems clear that Joe is still out there, trying to get his hands on the money from the bank robbery. The ME (Robert Joy) is able to do a virtual autopsy on the body, which magically hovers like a 3-D hologram in mid-air.

Mac also finds some more evidence when an apparent magic bullet drops out of his clothing. There is also a hole in his shirt. It seems Mac was shot at through a window, and the window slowed the bullet enough so it only had enough power to pierce his clothing. Amazing!

Complicating matters more is that Adam (A.J. Buckley) ties Flack’s sister Samantha (Kathleen Munroe) to the case. Adam breaks protocol and tells Flack before he tells Mac, but I really don’t understand why. Flack finds that Samantha loaned her car to an acquaintance, Lauren, who winds up dead in its trunk. Lauren had nothing to do with the murder. But, as luck would have it, they find evidence on Mac's own evidence case that ties Joe to a plant that can only be found in certain places. Of course, they find the exact place where the plant is at, find a hole recently dug, and find that Joe has buried several passports and IDs there for his use. And, it appears that Joe – or whatever his name is – is watching them, because he calls them and taunts them. He also said that Lauren’s death was an accident. It seems Joe can see Mac and Stella from where he is calling, and they try to trace his call with no luck.

Back at the lab, rather than check all the IDs for any prior records, they check to see which IDs are legitimate and then only check the ID for that one. Wouldn’t it have been quicker to do a cursory check on all, and then the one with the record would have flushed out immediately? It was a roundabout way to get to the clue. They find that Joe’s real name is Ethan Scott. They are able to track him down easily by getting the travel plans for his wife, Allison (Deena Dill). They tip off his wife to Ethan’s crimes, and of course, an unwitting Ethan walks right into the trap. Mac gets his man. And Mac is happy because after all, Joe/Ethan "pissed [him] off". (That's right Mac, it is all about YOU!)

The problem with this episode is that it was just all too easy, and all too predictable. It is amazing to me that all murders and crimes in the world can’t be solved like this – within what look likes the time span of a day or less. But of course that’s not possible because REAL crimes don’t always have magic bullets, the unusual plant life that can only be found in very limited locations, the tire track that has magic properties, or science-fiction like forensics tools, to name a few. But there is an inconsistency with all this magic when they can’t quite make out Joe’s face when his photo is snapped at a toll area, yet they can make out the tiny vehicle identification number on the door of his car from the same photo.

Of course, the most obvious thing that saps the drama is that we know that Mac, while he was hostage in the season finale, would come out fine. After all, he is the star of the show, isn’t he? It’s just like CSI Miami where we all knew that Horatio Caine (David Caruso) wasn’t going to be dead. It seems that some of these crime shows aren’t trying hard enough to have real, believable cliffhangers any more.

Maybe I missed something, but why exactly did Adam feel that he couldn’t take the information about Flack’s sister’s car to Mac to begin with? Why wouldn’t Adam not trust Mac to do the right thing with it? Is there something between Mac and Flack where Mac would have turned on Flack with the information? Maybe it’s some past history with Flack’s sister and Mac that I have forgotten, either way, it seemed an odd move for Adam to make.

So while this episode was better than the CSI Miami premier – the CSI NY team seems to be actually showing some acting depth – the story itself was average at best. I hope they don’t fall into the CSI Miami trap of glitz over substance. Now that, would be a crime.



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House:” Not Cancer” Not That Interesting

Last night’s episode of House, “Not Cancer” did not start like the usual episode. Instead of just having one patient, we had 5 people, four of which were dead or dying. The fifth was a math teacher who had a corneal transplant who wasn’t ill…yet. In fact, the common thread with the patients is that they all got something transplanted that originated from one person.

The handling of the case itself was usual. House (Hugh Laurie) and his team guess on various diagnoses, they argue with themselves, they argue with House, House argues with them…the dance continues. In fact, in respect to the medical storylines, if you’ve seen one House episode, you’ve seen them all. In this episode, House seems to think that cancer is at the cause of the illness, and when it seems he’s proven right, he now thinks the diagnosis is wrong. He was part right and part wrong, as House realized that cancer stem cells from the original donor had mutated to look as if they belonged there, attaching themselves to other organs in the patient’s body. This made them hard to spot and also made those areas of the body under attack very weak.

But this episode seemed different in that House seems a little more lost than usual. He doesn’t have Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) to kick around at will. But, to see what Wilson is up to, House enlisted the help of a private investigator, Lucas (Michael Weston). House got the PI initially to help him with medical cases where his doctors couldn’t (like breaking into homes, something I’ve always had a problem with), and he also taps him to keep tabs on Wilson. But what House doesn’t realize is that the PI is also observing House, just because that's what he does.

A little humor is interjected when House mooches paying for his lunch off another colleague (a doctor). House proceeds to join the doctor for lunch, testing the waters for how good this guy would be as House’s replacement whipping boy since he didn’t have Wilson to kick around any more. House also asks, "Do you have some ethical problem with what I'm doing that you could express in a unique way that would actually make me think that I'm wrong even though I'll never admit it?" After the doctor asks House if House knows he’s not gay, the little scenario runs its course and the gag is over.

House’s original diagnostic team seems for the most part to have been relegated to window dressing. Foreman (Omar Epps) is the only exception with more screen time than Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) and Chase (Jesse Spencer), the latter two almost completely disappearing from any significant storyline. Meanwhile, we get more of the new team, who is just like the old team. Thirteen (Olivia Wilde) is just another Cameron-type, and Taub (Peter Jacobson) and Kutner (Kal Penn) go through similar disagreements with each other and with House as their predecessors did.

It’s as if it’s the same show as always, with just some new faces. Yes, House’s drug problem has taken a back seat, which is a good thing, but they need something more compelling that House’s inability to cope without Wilson to make the show seem interesting. And they also need more than just a new set of faces to make the medical cases seem different.

In some aspects, the edginess of the show and the drama seems to have disappeared. House almost seems too…nice. Yes, he’s still cranky. Yes, he’s still annoying. But what made House great is his intensity and single mindedness for his cases. His “pining” for Wilson, much to the glee of the House/Wilson shippers I am sure, is just not the answer. Don’t get me wrong; this is still a good show. But the bar was set very high in the show’s first year or so, and it seems evident that it peaked and now has reached some sort of plateau.

Maybe the writers need to hire a private investigator to find out where the real drama has gone, because it certainly seems to be missing from the show.



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Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Perfect “Mousetrap”

Last night’s episode, “Mousetrap”, returned the show to the suspense and drama that we saw in the series initial episodes. And they did it without a lot of complications and terminator wars.

The episode begins with Charley Dixon (Dean Winters) and his wife Michelle (Sonja Walger) stopped at a gas station in the middle of nowhereville. They are fleeing in order to protect themselves. While Charley is distracted though, Cromartie (Garret Dillahunt) sabotages his own car, and steals Charley’s – with Charlie’s wife still in it.

Meanwhile, John Conner (Thomas Dekker) is stealing cable for his very pregnant neighbor, and sees a news story about an actor whose identity Cromartie used while he murdered a huge group of an assault team. Later, John gets a call from a crazed Charley, but Charley covers up his panic and asks to talk to Sarah (Lena Headey). She seems not happy to hear from him, but she’s really speaking to him in code. She manages to get Charley’s location and goes to help him, with Derek (Brian Austin Green) in tow. But, before she leaves, she tells Cameron not to let Charlie out of her sight.

Cromartie is holding Michelle captive, and he has her tied to a chair set up with wire and mousetraps so that any move she made would cause her to be blown up.

Meanwhile, while John and Cameron (Summer Glau) are loading computers onto their pickup truck, he gets a phone call from Riley who wants to see him. Cameron doesn’t like the idea but John takes off when she’s distracted and heads to find Riley.

Ellison (Richard T. Jones) is at home, and he watching one of Laslow’s movie when he gets a call from Weaver (Shirley Manson), who poses an opportunity to him and asks him to meet.

Michelle, despite being tied up, has managed to get access to her cell phone and calls Charley. Sarah insists that Charley ask Michelle something to be sure it’s really her, so he reluctantly asks her a question only she would know. It IS Michelle, and she gives them her location as she best knows. But unbeknownst to her, Cromartie sees that her phone is out of her purse. When Michelle pleads with him, he tapes her mouth shut and sets her chair on the mousetraps, and we can see what look like an explosive device.

While all this is going on, John and Riley are out having fun, when they see Cameron staring at them from across the street.

Sarah, Charley and Derek find the location where Michelle is being held, and enter with their guns drawn. When they see Micelle, Sarah warns that no one should touch her, seeing what looks like an explosive set up. While Sarah reviews the situation, Charley finds their truck had just been sabotaged. Sarah realizes the bomb is fake, and the Cromartie just wanted to keep them there. They free Michelle, and Sarah calls John, telling him to stay with Cameron. But Cromartie has tapped into the call and now has John’s number and the date code word. When Derek says he noticed some equipment tied to a huge cell phone tower right outside the window, Sarah realizes what is going on, and they all flee as Cromartie has the cell phone tower blown up to fall on the house.

Everyone seems OK from the explosion, and Derek and Sarah realize that Cromartie has heard her phone call to John and Cromartie knows the secret calling code. But, as Charley helps Michelle, he sees she is bleeding from her back. She insists she can go on.

Cromartie now calls John, posing as Sarah, and tells him to meet her at the pier and turn off his phone. Meanwhile, the group knows they can only make progress on foot in order to get help, and Michelle goes on, even though she is still bleeding.

While this is going on, Weaver and Ellison have their meeting, with Weaver showing pictures of a plane crash with terminator parts that were found in the wreckage. She said that she and her late husband spent $20 million to reverse engineer the technology, with no luck. She also indicates she knows about Ellison’s New Mexico case from eight years ago who saw a man with a robot leg trying to kill John Connor. She thinks Ellison knows what is really going on and who recently murdered all those police and agents. She wants Ellison to help her find another terminator.

Back in the desert, Sarah car jacks a lone van driver, and they escape. But Michelle is bleeding to death, and Charley demands Sarah to stop the van.

John, back at the pier, spots Cromartie, and runs, Cromartie also seeing him and begins to chase. It ends with both of them in the water, but Cromartie can’t swim, so John gets away. But, just like Star Trek the Next Generation’s Commander Data, Cromartie can still sink to the bottom and walk his way out, which he does. But John has already left the scene with Cameron, who managed to catch up with John.

Outside a hospital emergency room, Charlie is overcome by grief. Michelle is dead. Later, at her funeral, he drops a bible onto the casket and storms off. Ellison is there, and seemingly only a short way away is Cromartie. The episode closes with Sarah, John, Derek and Cameron lowering their heads at a dinner table, with a very subdued. serious tone.

This episode worked well because it was less of the terminator vs. terminator scenario, and a little more of a terminator using his brain, not brawn, to get to John Connor. Although I must admit, it seem a little odd that John, who knows the trouble he could be in when he goes off on his own, being unprotected no less, still does it. I realize that he wants to have his fun, but he’s seen the bad that can happen from complacency. One day, it would be good for John Connor to show that he is really learning from his mistakes.

Enhancing the story line is Michelle’s death, which puts Charley back on the market, and probably will give him a major chip on his shoulder. Nothing adds to the drama of a show with a guy who is angry and wants revenge. The question is – to whom will he direct his anger? To the terminators? To Sarah” Or to both?


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Prison Break: “Safe and Sound”, But for How Long?

Last night’s episode of Prison Break, “Safe and Sound” was just another trip on the predictability train. But now, we’ve jumped to the unbelievability train.

The premise of the story is the same as it’s been in the last few weeks. The team is working to get another one of the Scylla memory cards. But this time, while Wyatt ( Cress Williams) is trying to catch up with Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies), Mahone (William Fichtner) is trying to catch up the Wyatt, who murdered his son.

In order to get their hands on the latest Scylla card, they have to enlist the help of Agent Self (Michael Rapaport). Agent Self tries to get the card in a conventional way – by getting close to the card by meeting with the person who possesses it, Oren – the head of the LA Treasury Bureau – who is located in Self’s building. But, as luck would have it, the card is in a safe, which is blocking any transmission of any signals that would allow them to grab the data. Since this is television, they have an easy work-around. Self will help them to break into the office next door to Oren’s, so they can cut through the safe to extract the card.

In a scenario that stretches any sense of credibility, Self manages to get the blue prints to the building in a nanosecond, and get the guy in the office next door to go out to lunch with him. While there are leaving the office, he sprays a liquid all over the carpet as he leaves the room. This necessitates some one to call for a clean up, which just so happens to be Sucre (Amaury Nolasco) and Bellick (Wade Williams). Of course, they arrive there immediately and begin the clean up. (Now think about it, when has anyone in a maintenance or janitorial department come right away to clean up?) While they are running their noisy equipment, Michael (Wentworth Miller) and Linc (Dominic Purcell) use a noisier metal saw to cut through the safe. I would think that a noise from a simple carpet-cleaning machine would not be able to drown that out. What is even crazier is that “the General” has arrived in Oren’s office, and after Oren returns, Michael can hear them talking though the hole in the safe while they are downloading the data. Now if they can hear someone talking normally even through the safe and the wall, wouldn’t someone have heard that very very noisy metal cutter?

Of course, they get the data in time and leave in no time flat, managing to clean up the office they were in and leaving no trace they were there, all before the guy comes back from lunch with Self. Meanwhile, to make things more secure, the General tells Oren that all Scylla card holders have to keep the cards on their person at all times. Yes, that will make them much safer. (!?)

Meanwhile, back at the office at another time, T-Bag (Robert Knepper) is shocked to see Sucre and Bellick at the front desk, speaking with the woman who incapacitates people with her cleavage, showing her T-Bag's photo. She then proceeds to blackmail T-Bag, keeping her silence for a small percentage of his earnings, which he has yet to see. Of course, she really has no idea that T-Bag is really a murderous Scum-Bag. But T-Bag has an epiphany when tea dripped on the pages of the bird book seemed to reveal more information. Later, complicating matters, Mr. Xing shows up at T-Bag's office with gun in tow, and asks if is ready to hand over the Scylla. He says that if T-Bag does not turn over the Scylla in three days, T-Bag will be dead.

Wyatt is still holding and torturing Gretchen (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) but she manages to escape by, over time, prying out a nail and stabbing one of Wyatt’s flunkies with it. She seems near crazy from her torture.

With information he got from Sara, and also conformation he got from his wife, Mahone is hot on the trail of Wyatt. He tracks him to a motel, and catches a hotel employee who Wyatt paid off to serve as a lookout, but before the employee can tip off Wyatt. He gets Wyatt’s cell phone number from the hotel employee.

Image from Fox
Back at the home base, Sara and Glenn (James Hiroyuki Liao ) go through all the possible Scylla holders. Sara recalls hearing that one of them had flown to Laos, and another was heading to Asia. She researches Laos on her Blackberry and finds that "runaway inflation" in Laos has led to riots and a high death toll. When Michael returns, the two discuss Laos, and they conclude the Company's plan was to destroy the area's finances, in order to reap the profits from reconstruction. Sara also admits to him that she was at a bar, but didn’t drink, and won’t ever lie to Michael again. They share a passionless kiss.

Agent Self says they have information on two of the other three card-holders, but admits that the General is a "ghost." Luckily Sara remembers that while she was being held captive, she heard Gretchen called her boss "General." Sara thinks he is the top man of the Company.

Wyatt and the General are mulling Gretchen's escape. Someone interrupts and tell them that a search of their image database for the General had been requested that day… by Don Self. Someone’s going to be in trouble.

And – that’s it for the episode.

My initial reaction was that they are trying very hard to generate suspense for Scylla and what it all means, but they are ruining any progress they make by creating these unrealistic scenarios in which to get their hands on Scylla. The whole stunt with the team gaining access to the office during the day, where they risk being spotted, heard, or caught, would have been more realistic had they pulled off the heist at night. Heck, if they had waited a day, the guy would have had the card on his person if he followed the General’s new mandate. I suspect that the new rule to keep the cards ON the cardholders at all time was a plot device just to get themselves out of these silly, imitation Mission: Impossible scenarios.

Again, Sara and Michael seem lifeless together. Mind you, I’m not one of those “shipper” people so I don’t care what goes on with those two. Still, I expect him to show much more love towards her since he went to such lengths to find her.

But the real workhorse of the show – the person who delivers a solid performance every week no matter what he’s given – is William Fichtner. Frankly, I am finding myself caring more about what happens to Mahone than anyone else on the show.

I can only wish that we’ll see something different next week, a little less Mission: Impossible and a little more intrigue. Somehow, though, I doubt it.



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CSI Miami "Resurrection": It...Is...Alive!

All photos from CBS

Coming at the end of David Caruso Day was the season premier of CSI Miami titled “Resurrection”. This episode was named “Resurrection” for a good reason. You see, the immortal Horatio Caine (David Caruso) isn’t dead. But you knew that already, didn’t you? There is no way that the show would kill off the star of the show, the character some fans love, some fans love to hate, and some crazy people stalk.

But here’s how it goes down.

The episode opens with a flashback from the season finale ”Going Ballisic”, where we see Horatio Caine, laying apparently mortally wounded on the tarmac, his sunglasses nearby, one lens shattered by a bullet. Of course, he wasn’t wearing his sunglasses at the time he was hit, and there is no blood on or near his eye, so he knows he didn’t get shot in the head. Ryan is getting a message on his phone saying “It’s done.”

A body bag is being zipped up as Ryan (Jonathan Togo) and the ME Wellner (Kurt Long) look on. Calleigh (Emily Procter) and Eric (Adam Rodriguez) arrive at the scene, and are shocked to find that Ryan has already released Horatio's body so the media wouldn’t get a look at his body on the tarmac, laying there in his own blood. . Of course, they seem to be more concerned with how fast Ryan got there than immediately checking the crime scene. Eric goes to the morgue to see the body, and is shocked to find that the ME had already released it to the Feds but the ME has no recollection of the agent’s name.

Eric smells something…and it’s not dead bodies. Well, maybe he DOES smell dead bodies, after all it is a morgue. But I think he senses the stink of conspiracy!

Back at the tarmac, Frank (Rex Lynn) is filling in Calleigh, telling her that Horatio was there to see off Julia Winston (Elizabeth Berkley) and son Kyle (Evan Ellingson) on a private jet to Puerto Rico. But they can’t be located there. Eric is still wondering why Ryan got to the crime scene so fast. (Focus, Eric, focus!) Natalia (Eva La Rue)finds a partial shoe print and a speck of blood evidence, which, back at the lab, she finds it belongs to a criminal who had been killed in jail the day before. She thinks someone stepped in that person’s blood and tracked it to the tarmac. How convenient.

Faster than you can say “DNA evidence”, a recently released convict named Diaz (Saul Huezo), whose shoe print matched the one on the tarmac, is in custody. The sole of his shoe still has blood on it, and Eric declares, "We know you're an associate of Juan Ortega.”( Jose Zuniga ) Of course, he denies he is involved in Horatio’s murder, he was just there to catch a flight. He just so happened to take a picture with this camera phone after hearing a shot so he could send the photo to Ortega and take credit for the hit. In the photograph, in the pool of blood, we see a reflection of something on top of a nearby hangar. "That's not something," Eric says. "That's someone." How anyone can see that kind of detail from a low-resolution camera phone shot is beyond me. Faster than you can blink, Eric and Calleigh are at the top of that hangar, looking onto the tarmac. Calleigh states the obvious: "Perfect vantage point for a shooter. " Yes, I could have told her that, even without the photo. In searching the area, Calleigh finds a bandage. She says she had spoken to Agent Caldwell (David Keith) that morning and he (gasp!) had the same bandage!

Now, Caldwell is being grilled and he denies any involvement in the killing of Caine. He says they were both were trying to get Ortega for the sale of alloy bullets. But Calleigh says that the signature of the mystery agent, Dean Redland, who signed out Caine's body, matches Caldwell's handwriting! Calleigh also show Eric Caldwell’s PDA with the text message "It's done." But who did Caldwell sent it to? Eric calls the number and Ryan answers. Eric’s outrage is evident, saying "It all makes sense now…How you got there so fast, why you released the body!"

"I was just following orders," Ryan whispers. Eric has a cow, grabbing Ryan. ‘Orders from who, Wolfe? From who?” "From Horatio." Shock! It…Is…Alive! Eric and Calleigh want the details, and Ryan tells them that the ME was an ATF plant, Ortega was sending someone to kill Horatio. Saris (Kim Coates) wanted Horatio dead as well. The only way Horatio would survive was to stage his own execution. Caldwell did the shooting and Ryan was responsible for the blood. "Where's Horatio now?" Eric asks and Ryan tells him "He could be anywhere."

We then see Horatio at a lovely home, sunglasses in tow. The burning question is, did he use a throwaway pair of sunglasses when he got “shot”, or did he just get a new pair? Oh, the drama of it all! He draws his gun, he carefully walks around, and he finds Julia and Kyle in the house, alive and kicking. Julia wants to leave, but Horatio won’t have it. He doesn’t want Julia seeing Ron, but Julia objects, "That man is my husband. " Horatio tells her, "And that is your problem… "I need four more hours." He gives Julia a key to a “safe place” and tells Julia to go there and wait for his call. But Horatio is going underground.

Later, on a hidden dirt road, a man meets Horatio. Apparently Horatio saved his life years ago and he wants to help Horatio. Horatio just wants the alloy bullets oft the street. The man hands him a briefcase, with $10 million inside. Horatio can’t use normal methods with the police to get that cash because things were “complicated." He trusts Horatio, saying, You will retrieve these bullets. Lives will be spared." Horatio smiles and answers, "If it's the last thing I do." (Can we only hope?)

Meanwhile Eric and Caldwell interrogate Ortega, but he refuses to cooperate. Eric and Caldwell suggest to Ortega that they drive him through gang territory and sit him in “the informant’s seat.”

Caine, still in the middle of nowhere, meets with Yelina (Sofia Milos) , who agrees to take the money and pose as a buyer who wants the fused alloy bullets. Caine cautions her to be careful but that he will be close by.

As Eric and Frank drive Ortega through Miami, gunfire breaks out nearby. Eric and Frank find two hooded men shooting at an armored truck. While this is going on, Ortega escapes. Afterwards, Eric and Frank determine that the armored truck shooting was staged to free Ortega, and that fused alloy bullets were used in the attack, which went right through the bulletproof armor.

Later, Eric meets with Horatio in a parking garage, and is hurt that Horatio chose Ryan to help him in his deception, and not him. Horatio seemed to be trying to protect Eric should the sting fail. Awww!

Calleigh, now at the scene, found skin scrapings on the glass of the driver's side door from one of the shooters. Back at the lab, they find it skin belongs to someone named Todd Keener (Alex Solowitz) who is not a known affiliate of Ortega’s gang. Within minutes Eric questions Keener who refuses to “rat out my boys," adding, "You cops, you just don't get it. You're on the short end. The gangs got all the ammo. You're nothing but ducks on a pond." Eric tells Horatio, now at the police department, that it seems the bullets are everywhere, and Horatio says he’s working on it.

Meanwhile, Yelina is meeting with Ron, wanting to purchase the bullets. And she wants ALL of Ortega’s supply. He is suspicious, and he pulls a gun on her. But she promised a deal to Ron that would make Ron a wealthy man. She gives him the $10 million as a down payment. He tells her he keeps a boat down at the marina, and that’s where he will be.

Ryan and Eric are able to trace Ortega’s movements from when he escaped the car by tracking blood drops, and theorize that he stole a car to get away. Back at the lab, Ryan and Calleigh find that the traffic signal at the armored car crime scene had been fixed to stay red, which kept the armored truck in place, allowing the ambush. After tracing the people who have such a device that can keep the light red, they track it to ATF agent Jake Berkeley (Johnny Whitworth), Calleigh’s former main squeeze. Immediately, they question Berkeley, and of course he denies he did it, saying he’s working undercover. Apparently the gang took his motorcycle that had the device. He agrees to help them.

Meanwhile, Yelina is watching Ron meeting with the gang members to get the bullets. Of course, they are doing the deal in broad daylight, because Ron thinks Horatio is dead. Yelina calls Horatio to tip him off that the deal is done.

Now, Ron, with Yelina is buying back all the alloy bullets from the local gang, and Ryan and Eric search for Ortega. Ryan and Eric remember that they still have Diaz's cell phone, and finding a call from Ortega, they trace the location of the call: an airstrip at the end of the Everglades. Wow, these people are quick!

At the airstrip, Ortega is preparing to get on a private jet when the cops arrive, Horatio Caine making the arrest himself. "Taken down by a dead man," Ortega states.

Berkeley is back at the lab, with a load of guns from the gang's safe house that he believed were used in the ambush. But, he had to break his cover to get the guns. "I didn't do it for the case, Calleigh," he says. "I did it for you." They kiss.

At the marina, we also see Ron and Julia in a kiss, with Ron explaining his plans to take them to South America by boat and sell them. They will be happy together. But Julia drops a bomb on him that she wants a divorce. Walking away, we see Horatio Caine there, with his gun drawn. Ron yells, "What the hell is this?” Horatio responds "It's called irreconcilable differences. "

Ron shoots, and Horatio fire back hitting what looks like a propane tank, which explodes, causing the bullets and the entire boat that Ron is in to explode as well. The blast should have knocked Horatio off his feet, yet he remains planted to the ground, not even dropping to protect himself from flying debris. Afterwards, Eric tells Horatio that they still can't find Ron's body, but the bullets appear to be gone. As the episode closes, Horatio promises, "Whatever it takes, we'll find him," to which Eric responds "It never ends, does it?" And, because he still needs a job and we need a show, Horatio Caine answers, "And it never will.”

Well, it looks like the CSI Miami team wrapped up the “death” of Horatio, solved an armored car heist, and got those fused allow bullets off the street in less than 24 hours. That is some police work – some unbelievable police work, that is. I know that these shows deal a lot with compressing time just for the sake of moving the episode along faster, but some of the speed in which they do so is laughable. It seems that they are able to get DNA results and identify to whom it belongs in nanoseconds. They are able to get people in for questioning with the blink of an eye. They manage to have an ME in place that just so happens to be an AFT agent who can help stage Horatio’s death. Horatio, who is a crack shot, isn’t able to hit Ron on the boat, yet misses and hits a propane tank, blowing it all up. And, even more amazing, the explosion didn’t even seem to ruffle his hair. It’s just all too convenient.

Of course, Horatio thinks nothing of putting the women he loves in jeopardy – Yelina, Julia – in order to take down the criminals. He’s such a user!

CSI Miami, which still draws huge viewership across the country and around the world, seems to revel in appealing to the lowest common denominator. The story lines are simplistic, the evidence too convenient. Let’s not forget that the acting is wooden and the characters predictable. And you know what that means? It means I’ll be back for next week’s episode.


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The 60th Emmy Awards Show: Horrible!

It’s bad enough that the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences snubbed so many for Emmy nominations. But the insult was compete when the Emmy Awards Show didn’t even seem to put much effort into providing a decent awards show.

I’ve written here before that I don’t like awards shows. They are usually only good for the first half hour, and then they descend into boredom. But last night’s Emmy Awards began with boredom already in full swing.

The show opened with some clips of past shows that seemed disconnected. It was followed by a speech from Oprah Winfrey, which was OK but a little long and frankly I’m not sure of its point. Still, it seemed to be a wasted lead in for what was to come. The hosts of some of the top reality shows were introduced, with Tom Bergeron, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Ryan Seacrest, and Jeff Probst. And they seemed proud of the fact that they had nothing prepared, stating, "We have nothing…This is serious. This is not a bit….We have nothing." Heidi Klum stood there in the center of the pack and said nothing. Then, William Shatner was called onto the stage to help tear off Heidi’s manly tuxedo costume to reveal a more scantily clad Klum. It was…weird.

My husband and I switched over to the Green Bay vs. Dallas football game on NBC, but, like watching a bad accident, we had to switch back to the Emmys to see if the horror continued. It had. What was even stranger is we found ourselves watching more of the Emmys than we normally do, just to see how bad it was. We switched the game back on during acceptance speeches, but did manage to catch Jeremy Piven’s dig where he asked "What if I just kept talking for 12 minutes? That was the opening." No kidding.

Before I switched off the show, I saw Josh Groban lower his standards to perform a horrific montage of 30 themes from primetime TV shows of the past, complete with the infamous Law & Order “doink doink” which of course is not part of the Law & Order theme song. (Idiots!)

Probably the funniest piece, although maybe drawn out too long, was Ricky Gervais going on about missing last year’s awards where he won, and where Steve Carell accepted for him in a hysterical celebration. Well, Ricky demanded his award back from a purposely stone-faced Carell, descending into even attempting to tickle Carell. I couldn’t believe it, actual entertainment!

One commercial that I did watch was the Macy’s commercial. Full disclosure here – I hate Macy’s. They took over a Kauffman’s store in my home town and since then, I have barely purchased anything from them because they reduced their selection of products and they also don’t have the same quality they had before. Yet, years after this big Macy’s merger had been announced, we now see a commercial, which touted the deep history of the store in New York City. Well, since New Yorkers sometimes seem to act like the world revolves around them, I became even more miffed at Macy’s, since they still seem to think that what New Yorkers have liked over the years the rest of the country will like too. Still, Macy’s should ask for their advertising money back, seeing that this dog of a show didn’t do much to put me in the mood to “reminisce” about Macy’s in New York.

Also horrific was a disjointed and sometimes uncomfortable skit with some of the old stars of the show Laugh-In. Ruth Buzzi looked eerily the same in her old lady costume, Lily Tomlin and Joann Worley seemed the same too, and Alan Sues seemed feeble or drunk, or both. It was almost embarrassing.

And that was it for me. The TV went off and I never looked back.

All I can say is that the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences should be ashamed of themselves for this show. It seemed disjointed and lifeless. It was like amateur hour(s). I actually felt sorry for those performers who were nominated for an Emmy. The show was an insult to them, but even more of an insult to viewers. The sad thing is, the Academy will probably nominate themselves for an Emmy next year.



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David Caruso Day – Monday September 22, 2008

In preparation for the season premier of CSI Miami - Resurrection” - to air on Monday September 22, Lisa de Moraes of the Washington Post has declared that day “David Caruso Day.” I am sure fans, non-fans, and stalkers alike will want to participate. But there are rules you have to follow, which she outlined in the following article:


Monday, the start of the seventh glorious season of "CSI: Miami," we have declared David Caruso Day - a 24-hour tribute to the most underappreciated thespian in the primetime firmament. It's something like that National Talk Like a Pirate Day -- which, in one of those incredible coincidences that makes covering TV such a paranormal experience, is today! On David Caruso Day you don't have wear an eye patch or say "Aargh!" all day long. Instead, you get to hiss pithy, mockable one-liners while leering over the top of your Maui Jim's, and generally muck about like an actor who, early in his career may have gotten to fill in for the lead role of Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables" on Broadway for six months, but who is coming to the realization the defining role of his career is a vocabulary-challenged cop saddled with the name Horatio. Additionally, we invite you to send an essay "What David Caruso Day Means to Me" to the TV Column's invaluable colleague Emily Yahr. And, we encourage you to send photos and video of you participating in David Caruso Day, which should also be sent to poor Emily's e-mail address. We will share the submissions with you on the chat next Friday. So here, with thanks to the many TV Column chatters who have contributed their suggestions, are the OFFICIAL DAVID CARUSO DAY RULES:

1. Maui Jim sunglasses must be worn all day. Outfit should ideally also include a dark expensive suit (Armani for verisimilitude), dress shirt, no tie, badge, and a Hummer for transportation. When speaking, head must be cocked to one side, hands on hips (aka Caruso Handles).

2. If you are using more than 10 words in a sentence while speaking, you are doing it wrong.

3. The more the mundane the spoken sentence, the more it must be delivered with the slit-eyed intensity of a man who has just cornered John Dillinger -- or, if you prefer, the slit-eyed intensity of Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff. The goal here is to make William Shatner look well-modulated. Less mundane sentences spoken in the course of the day (example: "Boss, you can take this job and shove it.") may be delivered with only a pseudo-grim look.

4. When calling someone by name in a conversation, participants must follow that person's name with an extremely pregnant pause. Example: "Frank (pause, pause, pause) it looks like the Xerox machine is broken again." When the topic of conversation is very serious, the person must be addressed by their full name ("Francis" instead of Frank). Address women you work with as "Ms" followed by last name, never by their first name.

5. At least 75 percent of statements made in the course of the day by participants must be delivered as a question. Example: "It's ... cold outside?"

6. At least once per hour, you must open your cell phone abruptly, dial a number, tensely whisper terse instructions into the phone and slap the phone shut -- before the call could possibly have connected to the person you dialed.

7. When speaking to someone at length, you must first address the person's feet, then slowly look up and, before making eye contact, look away, then walk out of the frame. Exception: It is acceptable to look a small child in the eye.

8. Appear in places when you are least expected, especially to confront your nemesis, who is hopefully from another country, like Brazil. When your nemesis finally spots you, smirk, call out his/her name, say you are coming to get him or her, then immediately disappear.

Here are two more clips for inspiration: David Caruso Day-worthy takes by Jim Carrey and the "Sesame Street" team. For advanced instruction, attend the David Caruso School of Acting. Good luck!… [Note: the clips she references are below.)


So get out your sunglasses, put your hands on your hips, stand sideways, and have fun!




David Caruso School of Acting (Comedy Inc.)


David Caruso – Sesame Street Style


Jim Carrey does Caruso






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Bones: Putting My Finger on What’s Wrong

Last night’s episode of "Bones", “The Finger in the Nest,” again seemed more focused on the relationships between the characters than the crime itself. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that this show has ceased to be about the crimes and forensic anthropology. This change has happened over a period of time, and while it seems to be a natural progression, for me, it still seems a little off.

The murder case in this episode was about a veterinarian who was killed because he was going to expose a dog-fighting ring. The murder is first uncovered when Booth’s (David Boreanaz) son Parker finds a dismembered finger in a birds nest, which just happens to be low enough for him to get into with only a short climb into a tree.

While Temperance “Bones” Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and her staff work on the murder, Booth is more worried that his son will be forever scarred by finding that finger. While he is enlisting the help of the ever-annoying Dr. Sweets (John Francis Daley) to determine if Parker is suffering from post traumatic stress after finding the finger, I come to the conclusion that Booth is becoming a total wuss. (I called him a “doofus maximus” a few weeks ago. I now officially add “wuss” to that description.) I don’t like what they are doing with Booth and what kind of man he is becoming.

Without going into the details of the forensics – frankly why bother since the show seems to make it just a backdrop to the “dance” that is going on between Booth and Brennan – they crack the case relatively easily. It’s not without another casualty, though. A dog named Riley, who was instructed to kill the vet by its master, is euthanized before Bones can adopt him. Booth and Bones bury Ripley in what looks like a park. I hope it wasn’t in a park that I will be going to soon.
It’s not that the show isn’t entertaining. It is. Booth and Bones have great chemistry and the cast seems to mesh very well. Well, except for Dr. Sweets and Dr. Saroyan (Tamara Taylor), who I both wish would just go away. As a matter of fact, I am finding harder and harder to rationalize why Dr. Sweets plays such a major role in the work at the Jeffersonian, except to be an outlet for Booth and Bones.

So as far as the chemistry element of the show, I give it an A-. But as far as the crime element of the show, I give it a C. The science is there, yes, but it seems to only be a convenient plot device to advance the relationship between Booth and Bones. If I had to compare it to anything, it seems like I’m watching a modern version of Nancy Drew. If they are trying to make Booth and Bones into a new version of Mulder and Skully, I say nice try, but at least Mulder and Skully had story lines that seemed more fitting for people over the age of 15.

By the way, the soap-opera element will only get worse, as they are adding a new twist to the show by throwing another wrench into the Angela and Jack’s relationship. Read on from Eonline:

Bones Casting: Meet Angela's Lesbian Lovah

Meet Angela's new...woman! Angela Montenegro (Michaela Conlin) on Fox's Bones is currently torn between two male lovers—ex-fiancé Jack Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) and ex-husband Grayson (Sean Blakemore)—and now a fourth party will be added to the mix!

Fox confirms to us that the adorable Nichole Hiltz, who is best known to most TV viewers as Marshal Mary Shannon's ditzy but well-meaning sister, Brandi Shannon, on USA's In Plain Sight, will appear in Bones' Nov. 12 episode, "The Skull in the Sculpture."

Nichole plays Roxie Lyons, an artist's assistant implicated in her boss' death. Roxie, however, is more than just a suspect—she shares a romantic past with Angela. (She debunks the theory that she killed out of sexual jealousy by pointing out that she is a lesbian and that her boss was a man.)

Now what does this mean for Angela's love life? Well, it certainly isn't going to make Jack any happier with her! I ran into T.J. Thyne (whom I adore) at the Fox party, and when we discussed his character's love life, he said, "Thank you for knowing that she dumped me!" Sounds like Jack isn't going to be forgiving and forgetting any time soon.

In other news, yes, they are now casting for a hottie to play Jared Booth, Seeley's high-ranking Navy officer brother. Jared has a strained relationship with Booth (David Boreanaz), a fond friendship with Cam (Tamara Taylor) and eyes for Brennan (Emily Deschanel). I'm pretty sure that's not going to go over well with Booth, but I get the feeling the situation between Jared and Seeley is more about sibling rivalry than romantic competition.

David himself tells us, "We'll dive into Booth's past a little bit this season. Maybe we'll see his younger brother and his grandfather. And we'll see a little bit more of a vulnerable side to his character."

More deets on that in a future post, along with dish from David, Emily and Michaela themselves about what's to come in season four—but for now, post in the comments about what you think of Nichole's casting and who should play Booth's brother...
—Additional reporting by Jennifer Godwin and Natalie Abrams



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House: Does Dying Change Everything?

Last night’s season premier episode of ”House” – “Dying Changes Everything” – proves that dying changes nothing when it comes to Dr. Greg House (Hugh Laurie), or for the show for that matter.

The medical case is standard fare. A woman comes in with mystery illness, the staff scrambles to find out what is wrong, guesses on the diagnoses, treats the patient for a few different things, and House figures it out in the end. This is only a backdrop to the real story: Dr. James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) is leaving Princeton Plainsboro teaching Hospital.

I wrote in February about House and Wilson being ”TV’s Power Couple”. They still are, but they just won't be working together, at least for now. This episode was akin to watching a married couple going through an ugly split up, with Wilson being the woman with bruised feelings who isn’t appreciated, and House being the man who just doesn’t get what he’s doing wrong.

The bone of contention between the two is the death of Wilson’s girlfriend, Amber, who was killed as a result of a bus accident. Since she happened to be on the bus with House, and was on the bus BECAUSE of House, Wilson seems to be harboring bad feelings toward House about it. And, in typical House fashion, he doesn’t quite understand why Wilson is so miffed with him. He thinks Wilson is committing “career malpractice.”

While House’s staff works to diagnose the patient of the week, House is distracted by Wilson’s quitting, and in one case, abandons his patient and dumps the patient on Wilson. House also openly refers to Thirteen’s (Olivia Wilde) Huntington’s disease, which she insists to House and her peers that she does not have. (Later, however, she admits to the patient of the week that she DOES have Huntington’s.)

Dr. Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) also tries to play marriage counselor, trying to get House and Wilson to talk things over and make nice. After all, she doesn’t want Wilson to leave, either. In typical Cuddy fashion, she seems to gloss over the problem by thinking that her mediation over a session with these two would cure their ills. Of course it does not. Cuddy even goes to House’s apartment and called him out for risking the life of a patient rather than apologize to Wilson. When he closes the door in her face, she shouts through it, "You're doing the same thing he is. Running away. Except he's not killing anyone in the process." Personally, Cuddy should have fired House long ago, so now she really has no power with him at all. Well, maybe she only has power over him to the extent that she can confiscate all the remote controls for the TVs in the doctor’s lounge area. I continually am perplexed – even annoyed – that Cuddy, who really is the person in power at the hospital – is frequently made into a weak, ineffective leader.

Thirteen, however, seems torn about the patient, first with the requirement of an abortion of the fetus that was gestating in the wrong place, and later, telling the patient of her own disease in order to encourage the patient to believe in her own abilities. She gets confounded when the patient readily agrees to the abortion procedure, and even more frustrated when the patient goes back to work for her boss, because the patient says that is where she thinks she belongs. The bottom line is that Thirteen is just another reincarnation of the emotionally driven Dr. Cameron (Jennifer Morrison), who is still working in the emergency area and doing fine without House. A side note about Olivia Wilde – I am not quite sure what she did to herself, but she seems thinner and her head just looked huge. In fact, I found that every time she was on the screen, all I saw was a giant forehead. Her hair also seem plastered to her head. She made Dr. Kutner (Kal Penn) and Dr. Taub (Peter Jacobson) look attractive in comparison, which believe me, is quite a stretch.

And since I mentioned Dr. Cameron, I thought I should reference her two former peers, who are also now on their own to an extent. Dr. Chase (Jesse Spencer) is busy doing surgery and happy to be in a position where he can have some power over House’s team by nixing surgery for the patient. Dr. Foreman (Omar Epps) is working for House, but in a slightly better position where he was before because he has more influence over House’s staff.

Of course, as the episode is winding down, House comes in with the magic diagnosis of a form of leprosy, and provides the cure.

But the real heart of the matter comes at the end, when Wilson is getting reading to leave with his final box of personal belongings, and House comes in for one final chance to get Wilson to stay. House says, "I know I didn't try to kill her. I know I didn't want her hurt. I know it was a freak accident. But I feel like crap and she's dead because of me," and asks Wilson if they are OK now. But Wilson comes back that this was not the reason he is leaving. He tells House, "We're not OK,” that he was leaving not because of Amber, but because of House. Wilson spears back with, "You spread misery because you can't feel anything else…We're not friends anymore, House. I'm not sure we ever were." He admits to being House’s enabler – something viewers have known for quite some time now. Still, it was good to hear Wilson tell it like it is, before he walked out the door.

But the bottom line is, what has dying changed for House? Nothing really. He’s still the same, prickly, condescending, self-centered jerk he has always been. He still takes advantage of people. He still doesn’t seem to really care about his patients. Is the fact that Amber is dead and Wilson left the hospital mean that everything changed? No, not one bit. Just because Wilson isn’t at the hospital won’t mean that he won’t be in House’s life, as evidenced by the preview for next week. So when it all comes down to it, while Dr. Greg House pontificates that “dying changes everything”, for him, that's just not true.

Episode Clips







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Prison Break “Eagles and Angels” Doesn’t Fly

It’s a good thing that Prison Break seems to be starting the episodes off with a recap of the prior week, because I sense things are going to get complicated and hard to follow as we move through the season.

In this week’s episode, “Eagles and Angels”, we seen the team continue in their effort to get their hands on The Company’s data memory cards collectively known as “Scylla”. We learned in an earlier episode (the season premier episodes ) that it wasn’t just one card they were after, but six, which meant 6 more episodes of the same.

In this episode, they find that other card is at the Turkish consulate. They assume that a man has it, but when they have trouble downloading the information from their highly obvious black vehicle parked nearby, they realize the card is in the possession of a woman - Lisa Tabak, who is married to the Turkish consul. While Lisa is later being given some information from one of The Company men, the team plots to get the information from her device. They have to abort one plan as she is surrounded by too much security.

T-Bag (Robert Knepper), however, continues in his impersonation of Colt Pfeiffer, but is spotted by Linc (Dominic Purcell) and he and Michael (Wentworth Miller) give chase. They catch up with T-Bag and press him on the whereabouts of the bird book, but let him loose when it appears they have caught the attention of security. T-Bag still has the bird book, however, and makes his way to his “job” to collect his “bonus”. When he arrives at the office as Cole Pfeiffer, a receptionist with extremely distracting and voluminous cleavage give him a message that matches a clue inside the bird book. Later when T-Bag is shown his office by a somewhat skeptical employee, he also sees that his office number is in the book as well.

Sara is distressed when Agent Self (Michael Rapaport ) calls her to say that Bruce Bennett was found dead, and Sara blames herself. (I blame her too.) Michael consoles her. But a worried Agent Self also warns Michael that Bennett might have told The Company they are in Los Angeles. Michael tells Agent Self about T-Bag, and that T-Bag has the book that he got from Whistler which has the plans for the break in. Still, Michael and the gang work to plot to get the information on the device, which will likely be with Lisa Tabak when she attends an “Eagles and Angels” benefit dinner that night. Since “Eagles and Angels” honors fallen police officers, they know they have their work cut out for them in order to get in unnoticed.

Meanwhile, Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies) still struggles with Bennet’s death and ends up at a bar, asking for a double bourbon, but doesn’t drink it.

While all this is going on, Wyatt (Cress Williams) is also in L.A. trying to hunt down Sara. He takes a diversion to kill Jasper, who was waiting for Agent Self to show up. It seems The Company knew that Jasper was leaking information. When Agent Self goes to meet the jumpy Jasper, he finds him dead on the floor of his room, and we glimpse Wyatt leaving the scene.

The team, during broad daylight, confounds the security at the police storage facility, where they easily get uniforms and badges to help them get access to the benefit. They get into the Eagles and Angels benefit, and Michael gets the data collection device right under the table where Lisa will be sitting. But when a police officer asks Michael where he worked Michael balks. He covers for this by saying he was emotional because one of the fallen cops being honored was one of his guys, but the real cop I doesn’t seem to be buying it.

At the bar, Sara is still contemplating taking that drink. While doing so, a sleazebag comes by, hitting on her, and when rebuffed, steals a credit card from Sara which has Bruce Bennet’s name on it. The bartender takes the drink from Sara, and the sleazebag uses the stolen credit card to pay his tab.

At the benefit, Linc is recognized by one of the guards, and Linc makes his way out. The problem is that Lisa also got a phone call with a code message, and she moves to leave as well, the data transfer not complete. Linc is stopped by the guard, who knows Linc’s name and holds a gun on him. Bellick (Wade Williams) comes up stabs in his side, but Linc pulls out the knife and stabs the guard again, killing him. He calls Michael to something so they can get rid of the body, but Michael advises him to let the guards find the body, and to wait for Mahone (William Fichtner).

Somewhere else, we see Gretchen (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), chained, imprisoned in a dark room where Wyatt has been torturing her. He says someone else besides Whistler had been looking into Scylla, and pressures Gretchen for more information. But he gets a call from a woman telling him that Bennett's credit card had just been used at a bar in San Pedro.

At the benefit, Michael moves ahead with a modified plan. Mahone, still disguised as a police officer, tells one of Lisa's security guards that there was a body outside and "we believe it's one of your men." He asks the guard to come outside and identify the body, and Michael, who stas with Lisa, stands close to continue the wireless download of the data from her Scylla card she was carrying. Michael gets a little bonus when his nose begins bleeding.

Wyatt shows up at the bar where Sara had just been, asking the bartender if she'd seen Sara. Sara was in the bathroom crying, and she slips out the back without knowing Wyatt was looking for her and was so close.

The files finished downloading and Lisa was whisked away by her remaining security team. Back at the waterfront location, Sara is absent and no one knows where he is. Self and Michael commiserate, but also agree to keep going with the task, even though Self lost his contact in Jasper.

T-Bag, in the office, was mulling over the bird book and the name “Xing”. We then see some people in a dark room in New York City, where a man named Xing was telling someone else that Cole Pfeiffer did not show for their meeting. "So, you don't have Scylla?" the man asked, and then stabs Xing. The mystery man says he’s going to Los Angeles.

As Lincoln asked Glenn (James Hiroyuki Liao) if he got anything off Lisa Tabak's phone, Glenn hurriedly closed a bunch of windows on his computer screen, and said no. Mahone also asks Glenn to help him find the man who killed his son, giving Glenn a sketch with a description fitting Wyatt.

Michael calls Sara, wondering where she is an how she is doing. She tells him “you’re all that's keeping me going right now." He wanted them to make some time together and says he’ll come get her but she says she’s close and will be right there. But as she turns to leave, we see that Wyatt has been following her.


There were several things that bugged me about this episode. The first obvious thing was the lack of physical intimacy between Michael and Sara. For a person who seemed so desperate to find her, it’s as if he remains very distant when he’s around her, even when they are sitting privately as they were on the dock. At one point in the show he touches her hands, but that’s about it. There seems to be no chemistry between them. I know Sara is troubled and Michael is under pressure, but I guess I just expect at least an embrace, a kiss, something that makes it seem like there really is love or even just a little passion between them. They almost act like a married couple on the verge of divorce.

I also am finding the team's ability to break in or to infiltrate places a little too easy. Yes, I know this is television, but at least they should work for it more or make it more credible. Their stealing of police uniforms and badges was completely devoid of suspense because it wasn’t remotely credible.

I also believe that Michael Rapaport was miscast as Agent Self. His acting is flat, it’s almost like he’s reading lines in a high school play.

A pet peeve of mine in this show – but it’s not limited to this show – is the use of blown up color photographs on a whiteboard. Honestly now, do they really need it? It seems to me that in this episode, there was initially a huge layout of photos on the board, which suddenly disappeared a few scenes later for another picture or two. I know these things are done for show, but again, it detracts from a what I think should be a more realistic feel. Do they really have time to print out all those pictures, and do they want to even leave evidence of what they were doing if they have to suddenly flee?

Of course, the biggest problem will be the “story of the week” which will be “how to get another Scylla card without getting caught” scenario. It is already getting old, and frankly it is sapping any possible drama out of the show.

It is highly possible that this is the last season for Prison Break if they keep up this pattern. It can’t just be another version of Mission Impossible every week. The only prison this show needs to break out of may be of it’s own making – a repetitive storyline.



prison break 404 "Eagles ang Angels" promo #4
by pbeliteS4

Terminator Sarah Connor Chronicles: Too Automatic?

In this episode of The Sarah Connor Chronicles, “Automatic for the People, “ the group is faced with a potential disaster at a nuclear power plant. The only disaster here was the ease of which the power plant was infiltrated, not by a terminator, but by Sarah Connor and her cohorts.

The recap (below) outlines how the show set up the scenario where nuclear power plants will come under the control of the machines in the future. I have to admit, through, that the only thing it may have shown was how easy it is in a fictional world to get access to the sensitive insides of a power plant, either as an employee or a visitor. Even more unbelievable is the fact that a novice can pick up an emergency power plant manual and figure out after looking at a few pages how to fix the problem.

Here’s how it starts. There is a new arrival in Sarah Connor’s world. A naked man appears in a flash, apparently from the future, with a wound in his chest. He grabs some clothes conveniently located next to a homeless man where the man luckily landed, and runs off.

Back at the church where they are hiding, everyone seems to be mulling over recent events and their injuries. Sarah (Lena Headey) is worried that Cameron (Summer Glau) can be trusted, Derek (Brian Austin Green) seems to be putting his trust is God. Cameron, of course, is healing faster than everyone else. But Cameron also is concerned that John Connor (Thomas Dekker) is taking too many risks as evidenced by him deciding to fix her. But to make everything better, Sarah tells John to go back to school.

He does go back to school, but seems uncomfortable. While he seems to be moping outside, a blond girl comes up and asks he bailed on English class, and calls him a weirdo. Her name is Riley and she seems miffed that John never seemed to notice her in class. She convinces John to cut class and head over to his new house that Sarah has just bought, with everything inside.

Meanwhile, Agent Ellison (Richard T. Jones) is at Dixon’s house and speaks to Michelle Dixon (Sonya Walger). She tells him there is a gun in the house and she is concerned because Charley hates guns. When Charlie Dixon (Dean Winters) comes home and sees Ellison, he wants to know what’s going on and Ellison says they need to talk. Michelle is stunned that Sarah is alive and in LA too, and seems incredulous about the robots on the loose, Charley tells her that he doesn't love Sarah "like that", but she slaps him, saying his should be the least of their worries. She leaves the room, and Ellison advises they should leave the place, because it’s not safe.

Back at home, Sarah is dozing off on the couch, and is awakened by a man crashing through the glass doors. Cameron goes out to check the outside area, while the man, on his last breaths, tells Sarah and Derek to “stop Greenway." He also says something will happen at a power plant in Serrano Point in two days, and then he dies. Sarah says he's from the future, sent by John. Derek says he'll take care of the matter at Greenway at Serrano Point, but Sarah is not so sure. We see what looks like Serrano Point in the future, complete with flying vehicles on the attack and resistance fighters shooting back. Derek thinks that Greenway must play a big role in the future. While Sarah wonders what is supposed to happen in two days, Cameron thinks they can find out from Greenway themselves.

We see Sarah and Cameron with IDs entering the plant as temporary janitors. (How they were able to get security clearance so quickly is beyond me.) They are shown a cartoon training video and shown around the plant. They are told to be careful of going in the fuel building without proper protection. Cameron sees Greenway (Paul Schulze) as he walks by.

Back at the power plant, Greenway is double checking everything as the plant is going back on line tomorrow. Sarah sees him drop some pills, and Sarah tells him that she would have a headache too if she had his job. He insists they’re just vitamins. She introduces herself as Kara from Elgin, Texas, and Greenway tells her he was stationed right near there in the Navy. Nelson (Dean Norris) – probably Greenway’s supervisor - interrupts and tells Greenway he wants to talk. Sarah follows them, but not before picking up Greenway’s empty pill bottle that he just conveniently threw in the trash. She trails them across a raised walkway to another building, hearing Nelson tell Greenway the plant is going back on no matter what and they won't be stalled by Greenway. Sarah gets stopped in her pursuit, as he doesn’t have the right pass card to let he in. Nelson thinks he sees someone in the doorway (Sarah) but she manages to hide out behind the door on the ledge.

Meanwhile, John and Riley are looking at John’s new room, which looks like it is appropriate for a 3 year old.

Sarah and Cameron follow Greenway to a bar, the hang out for plant employees. (It reminded me of a scene from the movie “China Syndrome”.) While Cameron play pool shark, Sarah makes nice with Greenway, who is at the bar drinking. He says he’s served 12 years in the Navy on a nuclear sub, he has a cheating wife, and he has cancer. He shows her the scar on his arm from the cancer operation. Nelson is at the other end of the bar. Sarah tells Greenway that he seems like a good guy, and that if the other people won't drink with him it's their loss. Greenway tells her that is not the reason they won't drink with him.

While Derek is outside in Greenway's car, a pick-up truck arrives, a man with a crowbar gets out, and then smashes Greenway's back window and leaves. Derek pulls a gun but the man in the pick up just speeds off.

While Cameron is counting her pool winnings, Derek comes in to the bar and tells her and Sarah about Greenway’s smashed windshield. Sarah tells him that Greenway has enemies as he stopped the last test over safety concerns, and that some are afraid the plant will get shut down and lose their jobs if he stops tomorrow’s test. Cameron confirms that the reactor is showing some problems

Back at the house, while Riley is still there, Sarah comes home. John introduces her. Sarah is not happy and Cameron gives Riley the eye. Riley looks uncomfortable. But John isn’t having any of his mother’s concerns, and takes Riley to his room, apparently to stay the night. Before she leaves in the morning, she throws John her phone and asks if she can call him. He programs in his number. He adds, though, that any time she calls him, the first words out of her mouth need to be the date. She asks why, but John just says that’s his way.

Returning to the power plant, Sarah gets caught nosing around, but is told by Nelson that she has to do a clean up of a spill. She going into the room with protective gear, but freaks out a bit and exits the room. She’s contaminated, and has to undergo a hose down. But after all that, Nelson tells her that the whole thing was a false reading, a “hiccup”, and he leaves.

At the Dixon house, Charley and Michelle are leaving, destination unknown, and Ellison gives him a bible, "for the road."

Back at the plant, it’s only minutes away from the test, and Greenway seems to be proceeding as if nothing is wrong. But Sarah makes a cell phone call to Derek who is at Greenway’s home, saying that something is wrong. Derek finds Greenway, who is dead by hanging. Sarah watches what is clearly a “terminator” who, doubling as Greenway (minus the scar), is proceeding with the countdown, and the plant goes back on line.

The machine version of Greenway is walking through the plant, finds what looks like a release valve and turns it, releasing what appears to be steam. Sarah finds Cameron and informs her that Greenway has been replaced by a machine. Cameron doesn't react right away, saying that thinking about what she should do. An alarm goes off with some employees mention a leak, and Sarah tells Cameron to fix it.

As Greenway returns to the control room, alarms are going off and the staff is in panic mode. Greenway says that all will be fine, but it seems a melt down is in progress unless the cooling system begins to work. As one employee goes to check on the cooling system. Greenway shuts the door behind him, and tells a stunned staff to remain calm. As the staff member who ran out of the control room sees Nelson, he warns him that Greenway seems to have gone off the deep end. Nelson goes to the control room to find the staff on the floor –either dead or unconscious – and he meets a similar fate.


Derek drives up as people are fleeing the plant, and runs right in. (Doesn’t this place have ANY security?) Meanwhile, Cameron is trying to close the valve when Greenway picks a fight with her.


Sarah and Derek enter the control room (again, no security?) Melt down is imminent. They find Nelson unconscious, and Sarah looks through the emergency manual, which luckily is right out in the open. (I suppose it is “Nuclear Power Plants for Dummies?) Sarah has found information, but she runs out, while Derek tried to get help from the “red phone.”

While Cameron and Greenway fight, Sarah easily takes out a security guard and gets his gun. She enters the radioactive room with out a protective suit and runs through it. Derek does not follow, but somehow finds himself meting up in the same place as Sarah, who DID run through the room. Sarah shoots Greenway, and Cameron pushes him into some tanks, revealing his Terminator skeleton. Cameron finishes closing the valve, avoiding disaster.

In the radioactive room, Sarah is putting Greenway’s metal parts and some videotapes in a radioactive waste drum. Back at home she runs a wand over Sarah, and determines Sarah was not radioactive. Sarah asks Cameron about the her future cancer, and if any exposure from the day’s evens is the cause. Cameron doesn’t know. When Cameron enters the house, she and John talk about Riley. John asks if he's safe – from Riley – and Cameron doesn’t know, as "girls are complicated." John's phone rings. It's Riley, who says the date "16 November,” and says she was just testing.

Outside, Sarah sees a bloody hand print on a house post. She walks further and sees another on the door. She pushes the door open and walks into what looks like a basement or storage room. On the wall is writing in blood, with the following words: Greenway, Alpine Field, P. Alto, Wallace Brook, and more. We also Cameron, Derek, John, and Sarah standing there looking at the writing Sarah finds that the blood is still wet.

Later, a man is having a press conference, talking about the incident at Serrano Point. He says that it and six other power plants will be in partnership with Automight systems, which will take the human element out of the control room by adding automation. As the man leaves in his car, he morphs into T1000, Catherine Weaver (Shirley Manson).


As far as advancing the story, I’d say this episode did its job. The downside is that it seemed to take a very simplistic approach to the operations of a nuclear power plant. It was so simplistic that I found it laughable. The other thing that gave me pause was how simple it seemed to terminate the terminator version of Greenway, and how easy it was to dispose of its parts. Maybe something happened off camera where they removed the brains of the terminator unit? I didn’t think it was that easy to dispose of one just be breaking up its parts. Also odd was Sarah forcing herself to run through the radioactive room, when Derek seemed to be able to find his way around it just fine, and just as quickly.

Of course, we are being asked to draw a suspicious look to John’s new friend Riley, who John seems to think he can trust for now just because he gave her a code word to use when she calls him on the phone. That tactic wouldn’t work if she was already working against them.

All in all, the story moves forward. But hopefully they won’t have too many episodes where things are just too easy.



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Saturday Night Live: Truth Through Comedy

Leave it to a comedy show to highlight the truth in politics. Saturday Night Live had its season premier last night, opening with a humorous – yet right on target – political sketch. It starred Tine Fey as Sarah Palin, and Amy Pohler as Hillary Clinton. They both did an excellent job, but Fey did a dead-on impersonation of Sarah Palin that made me do a bit of a double-take.

The sketch speaks for itself, which is in the video below (transcript also below). The one statement that it makes that comes across loud and clear is that the television news media isn’t quite doing their job when it comes to asking the tough questions of our politicians. Let's hope that SNL gave them a good kick in the pants. And one thing is for sure, Saturday Night Live may have just made itself relevant again.




TRANSCRPIT
FEY AS PALIN: "Good evening, my fellow Americans. I was so excited when I was told Senator Clinton and I would be addressing you tonight."

POEHLER AS CLINTON: "And I was told I would be addressing you alone."

FEY AS PALIN: "Now I know it must be a little bit strange for all of you to see the two of us together. What with me being John McCain's running mate."

POEHLER AS CLINTON: "And me being a fervent supporter of Senator Barack Obama -- as evidenced by this button."

FEY AS PALIN: "But tonight we are crossing party lines to address the now very ugly role that sexism is playing in the campaign."

POEHLER AS CLINTON: "An issue which I am frankly surprised to hear people suddenly care about."

FEY AS PALIN: "You know, Hillary and I don't agree on everything..."

POEHLER AS CLINTON: (OVERLAPPING) "Anything. I believe that diplomacy should be the cornerstone of any foreign policy."

FEY AS PALIN: "And I can see Russia from my house."

POEHLER AS CLINTON: "I believe global warming is caused by man."

FEY AS PALIN: "And I believe it's just God hugging us closer."

POEHLER AS CLINTON: "I don't agree with the Bush Doctrine."

FEY AS PALIN: "I don't know what that is."

POEHLER AS CLINTON: "But Sarah, one thing we can agree on is that sexism can never be allowed to permeate an American election."

FEY AS PALIN: "So please, stop photoshopping my head on sexy bikini pictures."

POEHLER AS CLINTON: "And stop saying I have cankles."

FEY AS PALIN: "Don't refer to me as a 'MILF.'"

POEHLER AS CLINTON: "And don't refer to me as a [flurge]. I Googled what it stands for and I do not like it."

FEY AS PALIN: "So we ask reporters and commentators, stop using words that diminish us, like 'pretty,' 'attractive,' 'beautiful.'"

POEHLER AS CLINTON: "'Harpy,' 'shrew' and 'boner shrinker.'"

FEY AS PALIN: "While our politics may differ, my friend and I are both very tough ladies. You know it reminds me of a joke we tell in Alaska..."What's the difference...

POEHLER AS CLINTON: "Lipstick."

FEY AS PALIN: "...between a hockey mom..."

POEHLER AS CLINTON: "Lipstick."

FEY AS PALIN: "...and a pitbull?"

POEHLER AS CLINTON: "Lipstick."

FEY AS PALIN(AFTER A BEAT): "Lipstick. Just look at how far we've come. Hillary Clinton, who came so close to the White House. And me, Sarah Palin, who is even closer. Can you believe it, Hillary?"

POEHLER AS CLINTON: (AFTER A PAUSE)"I can not."

FEY AS PALIN: "It's truly amazing and I think women everywhere can agree, that no matter your politics, it's time for a woman to make it to the White House."

POEHLER AS CLINTON: "No. Mine! It's supposed to be mine! I need to say something. I didn't want a woman to be President. I wanted to be President and I just happen to be a woman. And I don't want to hear you compare your road to the White House to my road to the White House. I scratched and clawed through mud and barbed wire and you just glided in on a dog sled wearing your pageant sash and your Tina Fey glasses."

FEY AS PALIN: "What an amazing time we live in. To think that just two years ago, I was a small town mayor of Alaska's crystal meth capitol. And now I am just one heartbeat away from being President of the United States. It just goes to show that anyone can be President."

POEHLER AS CLINTON: "Anyone."

FEY AS PALIN: "All you have to do is want it."

POEHLER AS CLINTON: (LAUGHS) "Yeah, you know, Sarah, looking back, if I could change one thing, I should have wanted it more." (RIPS OFF PIECE OF PODIUM)

FEY AS PALIN: "So in the next six weeks, I invite the media to be vigilant for sexist behavior."

POEHLER AS CLINTON: "Although it is never sexist to question female politicians credentials. Please ask this one about dinosaurs. So I invite the media to grow a pair. And if you can't, I will lend you mine."

FEY AS PALIN: And as we say in Alaska...

POEHLER AS CLINTON: "We say it everywhere..."

FEY/POEHLER: "Live from New York, It's Saturday Night!


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CSI Miami “Resurrection” News and Video Preview

I already reported in this blog on July 2(Horatio Caine:Undead) and on August 22 (CSI Miami: The Return of the Sunglasses) that crime fighter Horatio Caine (David Caruso) isn’t really dead. Despite his seemingly supernatural powers, rising from the dead isn’t one of them.

CBS has provided a preview video clip of the season premier, “Resurrection “, and Entertainment Tonight states that:

When "CSI: Miami" wrapped its sixth season, Horatio Caine (David Caruso) took a round in the chest and was lying -- seemingly dead -- on the tarmac.

In the seventh season opener, his team vows to stop at nothing to find out which of his enemies was responsible for his death.

But, Eric (Adam Rodriguez) finds the circumstances a bit suspicious when Ryan (Jonathan Togo), who was the first responder to the scene, releases the body prematurely.

He tries to explain his decision, saying, "I didn't want his body lying in a pool of blood for the news crews."

Horatio has a lot of very dangerous enemies -- and the team has to investigate some of Miami's most lethal criminals to solve this crime.

"CSI: Miami" returns on Monday, Sept. 22 at 10 p.m. on CBS.


The only burning question is – what about the sunglasses?







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Dick Wolf Grabs Another BSG Alum

Apparently it wasn’t enough for Dick Wolf to grab Jamie Bamber (Lee “Apollo” Adama, Battlestar Galactica) for the UK version of Law & Order.

Now, he seems to have snapped up Katee Sackhoff (Kara “Starbuck” Thrace, Battlestar Galactica) for the pilot for his new show “Lost and Found.” Personally, I think it’s a great choice!

Here’s the scoop from The Hollywood Reporter:

Katee Sackhoff in Wolf-produced pilot
Hour series centers on offbeat LAPD detective
By Nellie Andreeva Sept 12, 2008, 01:00 AM ET

Katee Sackhoff is "Lost and Found" at NBC.

The "Battlestar Galactica" star has been tapped as the lead in the network's Dick Wolf-produced pilot, created by Chris Levinson.

The hourlong "Found," produced by Wolf Films and Universal Media Studios, centers on Tessa (Sackhoff), an offbeat female LAPD detective who, after butting heads with the higher-ups, is sent as a punishment to the basement to work on John Doe and Jane Doe cases.

The casting of Sackhoff means a firm production order for the pilot, which was picked up last month as cast-contingent.

Chris Levinson, who originally developed the show during the 2006-07 development season, is exec producing "Found" with Wolf and Wolf Films' Nena Rodrigue and Peter Jankowski.

Sackhoff, best known for her starring role as Kara "Starbuck" Thrace on "Battlestar," co-starred on the NBC/UMS drama series "Bionic Woman" last season.

The actress, repped by Endeavor, manager Leland Labarre and attorney Darren Trattner, next recurs on the upcoming season of FX's "Nip/Tuck."


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"Fringe": Changing TV Advertising?

As a follow up to my recap and review of the new Fox show “Fringe,” I saw this article from Advertising Age that I though I would share with you. It talks not only about the potential for success for the new show, but also how about Fox’s different approach to TV ads for the show.

'Fringe' Could Prove to Be Fox's Big Hit
Media Reviews for Media People: As Long as Series Doesn't Get Lost in the Details
By Brian Steinberg
Published: September 09, 2008

With the fall TV season set to get under way, Ad Age TV Editor Brian Steinberg casts a critical eye on new and continuing series to help marketers determine which may prove to be the best showcases for their ads and products. This week, the focus is on Fox's "Fringe," a show the News Corp. network intends to support by running fewer ads and promos, a potentially intriguing economic model.

What You'll See: You read it here first. If TV shows were judged purely on quality, "Fringe" would be one of this season's big success stories. Weaving together a heady mix of outre scientific ideas, paranormal occurrences, a determined-but-vulnerable heroine and a father-and-son team of scientists, "Fringe" marries the genre for which its producer, J.J. Abrams, is best known -- a complex blend of mystery, drama and heroism, a la "Lost" -- with the detective procedural (think "CSI" or "Law & Order") that has proven so popular with TV viewers in recent years.

In "Fringe," FBI Agent Olivia Dunham (played by Anna Torv) finds herself embroiled in a real humdinger: Passengers aboard a transatlantic flight have been wiped out by a flesh-eating virus (if you loved the special effects in that old chestunut "Raiders of the Lost Ark," then you'll really like "Fringe"). When she and her partner (to whom she's also romantically linked) start to investigate, he's crippled in an explosion that exposes him to the same malady. To save him, she's got to find the cure -- fast.

So Dunham turns to Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), a crackpot scientist who has been locked away in a mental ward for more than a decade. Only his son, smart-talking solider-of-fortune Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) can get her access to the man, and keep him relatively sane, so the three are linked together as they try to solve the mystery of the skin-melting epidemic and figure out who put it into play.

Their travails take them to a mysterious corporation known as Massive Dynamic, as well into experiments that involve taking LSD and submersion in a sensory deprivation tank (sounds like something out of the 1980 movie "Altered States"). By the end, we learn that all this is part of a bigger plot known as "The Pattern," and we're left to join Agent Dunham again when she and her team tackle another piece of the puzzle.

What's different about "Fringe" is that Fox has promised to run the entire season with only half the ads and network promos usually contained in an hour-long program. That means viewers are likely to have longer segments to enjoy -- the first ad breaks in a mock version of the program reviewed by Ad Age came in at 16 minutes into the first episode -- and not have to wait as long until the program comes back from a commercial.

Simply put, "Fringe" has cinematic qualities, cheesy face-dissolving special effects aside. If this is plotted out and paced as well as Mr. Abrams' other big hit, "Lost," Fox could have a large hit on its hands. Mr. Abrams and Fox would do well to consider the problems of an earlier production: ABC's "Alias." This was another buzz-worthy Abrams wonder that sparked conversation and kept advertisers in mind, but ultimately began to fall apart as the writers focused less on the vibrant heroine at its center -- Jennifer Garner's Sydney Bristow -- and more on an unwieldy plot that had little payoff and was too complex to follow week to week. "Fringe" needs to have a beginning, middle and an end in each episode, and Fox needs to commit to giving the drama room to breathe so the larger story can be told.

Neither a viewer nor an advertiser wants to get on board for a ride that gets cut short. If Fox can manage the entertainment -- and the new ad model behind it -- viewers could be in for quite a thrill.

What's at Stake? Only the future of TV advertising. OK, that's a little much, but if Fox can pull off its idea to run a high-quality drama with fewer ads, yet charge more for them, the ramifications could be vast. Viewers get better pacing and more story, while marketers run in a less-cluttered field. So their ads have the potential to stand out more vividly.

Your Ad Here? "Fringe" is filled with action and special effects, so ads supporting this program might play off those themes. Already, auto marketers and movie studios have shown lots of interest in the show, according to media buyers. And Viacom's Paramount Pictures and Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln-Mercury are on board, according to one person familiar with the situation.

Media Buyer's Verdict: "Fringe" might have an edge. With "House" as a lead in, the show ought to be "solid" in the coveted adults 18-to-49 range, said Brad Adgate, senior VP-research, Horizon Media. Viewers may be "pleasantly surprised" by Fox's idea to run half the normal amount of ads, he said, "but what's really carrying the chatter right now is J.J. Abrams." Mr. Adgate expects "Fringe" to "have big numbers in its first week," but wants to see the size of the audience for subsequent episodes, which will offer a better idea about how broad any "Fringe" phenomenon ought to be.


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Fringe = X-Files + Alias + CSI

Fox’s Fringe certainly has it all. While I watched the premier episode last night, I found myself seeing obvious comparisons to shows like The X-Files, Alias, CSI, and even Lost and Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles.

It has what could be a conspiracy (X-Files, Alias). It has an FBI Special Agent (X-Files). It has the unreal and the unexplained and weird science (X-Files). It has a woman with a metal arm (Sarah Connor Chronicles). It has a lab for research and experiments (CSI). It has a weird event on a plane (X-Files, Lost). And it has familiar background music (Lost and Alias).

Here’s what happened in the premier – my commentary is afterwards:

The show opens with a German flight, on its way to Boston, flying through a storm with lots of lightning. Everyone is scared, but one man seems worse that the others. He injects himself with insulin, and then, soon after, his face looks like it was placed under a broiler. And it seems contagious, as the rest of the passengers and crew suffer the same affliction. The plan lands on autopilot – everyone on board is dead.

We then meet Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), who is lying in bed with her FBI partner John Scott (Mark Valley). They are trying to keep the relationship secret. Both are called to the airport regarding the mysterious airplane incident. We also see a man – who looks identical to the man who injected himself with insulin on the plane - leaving the airport.

While on the tarmac, Special Agent Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick) of Homeland Security puts a task force together, and since Olivia is the interagency liaison from the FBI, she wants to be on the team. Broyles isn’t happy about it, or her, but he agrees. As she enters the plane in protective gear, she sees nothing but skeletal remains and lots of goo.

Meanwhile, someone has phoned in a tip that something suspicious was going on at a storage facility outside of Boston. Broyles assigns Olivia to investigate, and John comes with her. While breaking into the storage lockers, John finds himself faced with a man – whom we know looks like the man on the plane – and the chase begins. He calls Olivia for help, but disaster occurs when the man detonates something to destroys the row of storage units. John is in the middle of the explosion, and Olivia is knocked back.

When she comes to at the hospital, Olivia hears that what happened on the flight is also happening to John, and he’s been placed in a coma and kept cold to slow down the process. Now, Olivia works to find a cure for John, and the clues lead her to Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), a scientist who is currently in a psychiatric hospital, and whose own research may have been at the root of flight’s contagion. Since Bishop has been confined at St. Claire's psychiatric hospital for the past seventeen years, only family can get access and get him out. Olivia enlists the help of his son, Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson). But Peter is in Baghdad and is reluctant to leave. Olivia manipulates the facts to get him to help, and he returns to Boston with her. He tells Olivia that his father worked in what was called "fringe science," covering mind control, teleportation, astral projection, invisibility, genetic mutation, and reanimation.

To make a long story short, they manage to get the somewhat nutty Dr. Bishop out, he gets a sample of tissue from John, and get his lab – which was still in a basement a Harvard – set up in no time flat, with some string-pulling by Broyles. Olivia also finds that one person who knew about Bishop’s research was William Bell, the top man at a multi-billion dollar corporation, Massive Dynamic.

But, in order to help John, Olivia must undergo an experiment that involved her taking LSD and other chemicals, having electrodes inserted into her head and Johns, being in an isolation tank, and let’s not forget, doing it all in a black bra and skimpy panties. This procedure will allow her to get into John’s memories – which Bishop says is possible even 6 hours after someone dies – in order to have John show her who he saw. And it works. Olivia sees John in the surreal dream world, and then, the man he was chasing.

Back at the “office”, Olivia prepares a composite of the man’s face and it turns out to be the man on the plane, Morgan Steig – and surprise! – he also has a twin, Richard Steig, whose last employer was Massive Dynamic.

Olivia pays a visit to Massive Dynamic and meets the firm's Chief Operating Officer, Nina Sharp (Blair Brown). Nina gives Olivia a look at her metal prosthetic arm, which she attributes to William Bell. She cooperates with Olivia and gives her the company's file on Richard Steig. She also warns Olivia about fringe science.

Olivia and the FBI swarm Steig's apartment and while Walter and Peter wait in a car. Steig escapes out back (why didn’t the FBI prepare for this?) and Peter also sees him, and helps chace and apprehend Steig. Back at the FBI, Olivia interrogates Steig, and has no luck. But Peter manages to walk right in to the interrogation room and uses force to get the list of chemicals John was exposed to in the blast.

While back in the lab, Walter creates the mixture to help reverse John’s condition. While Olivia waits, Broyles approaches her and makes nice. He also asks her to work for him, on a special task force investigating "The Pattern," which is a group of events involving unexplained phenomena and rapid scientific progress, as if someone was using the world as their lab.

John is recovering nicely, and Olivia visits with Steig, also in the same hospital as John. Steig tells her there is a mole in the FBI, and that someone from her office contacted him to buy the contagion. He gives Olivia information on where he has the proof stashed, she digs it up, and is shocked to hear on the audio tape that the man who contacted Steig is none other than her man, John Scott.

John has recovered enough to get out of bed, and he has no problem getting access to Steig, and he murders him, smothering him with a pillow. Olivia, who has called for help, makes it to the hospital to see John fleeing, and follows him in a high-speed chase. John wrecks his car, though, and his killed, and dies in Olivia’s arms before he can give her information about his employer.

Olivia returns to Harvard and sees Peter and Walter leaving to take Walter back to the psychiatric hospital. She convinces them to stay and help her in her effort to get to the bottom of “The Pattern.” Peter agrees.

But, back at Massive Dynamic, Nina Sharp watches as John Scott's body is wheeled in on a gurney. She asks how long John has been dead – it’s been five hours. Nina instructed that they “question him,” presumably with the same technique used by Walter Bishop.


For a series premier, I think the episode did a great job in setting the stage for what is to come for the remainder of the season. But the show seemed to be very familiar, seemingly lifting the feel of shows like the X-Files, Alias, CSI, Sarah Connor Chronicles, etc. What made it even more familiar was that the background music made me feel like I was watching either Lost or Alias, or both. It had the time compression issues that used to bug me about Alias, where people seemed to jet around from one place to another in no time at all, or when things can seem to happen in hours when it should take days (like the lab set up). There were also some flaws in the story, for example, they originally kept John in a coma, in the cold to slow down is deterioration and to protect his fragile state, yet they seemed to get him moved to a lab which didn’t seem to have the ability to keep him cold. Frankly, I would have though the move alone would have killed him. And of course, there are the dumb security lapses. For example: Steig can get easily murdered in the hospital; Peter can simply waltz in and interrogate a suspect; or when the FBI raids an apartment and they just slip out the back door.

And also how trite is the plot device where the lover also has a dark side or a deep secret? I could see that one coming a mile away. The “twin” scenario also is overused. It seems like the sci-fi world must be loaded with twins and doppelgangers. And why is that every big corporation always have to seem like they are evil?

Somewhat annoying were the massive titles that appeared when the location changed. I found them distracting. But I understand that they probably were looking for something different than the plain old scene changes.

Still, despite the hard to believe science, this series has the ability to touch on many areas of the unexplained. Yes, it’s not a new theme for a show as the X-Files did it already. But with all the advances in science since the X-Files, and let’s not forget all the new filming techniques using computer animation, and with HD, it may be visually better.

Since this series seems to have lifted so many themes and styles from other shows, its success may be based on the strength of the cast. So far, the star, Anna Torv, seems to work well, and John Noble as Dr. Bishop is perfectly cast. I can even buy Lance Reddick as Broyles, who seems to be the equivalent to the equally bald Asst. Director Skinner of the X-Files. But Joshua Jackson as Peter left me a little cold, and I didn’t see a spark between Peter and Olivia. I am sure they are going for a spark, and maybe it will come later. But without chemistry between what may be the two key players, the show may have trouble.

Despite my criticisms, I still plan on watching. This could be on the fringe of something big.



Fringe Trailer




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Sarah Connor Chronicles “Samson and Delilah” Off and Running Again

Fox is getting an early start with its new season. Last week we got the disappointing premier to Prison Break. Yesterday, the season premier of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" aired, titled “Samson and Delilah.” It was an improvement over the premier of Prison Break, that’s for sure. The only think that is of concern to me is that I wonder how long the series can sustain interest in the repetitive chase and attack scenarios. It tends to become predictable after a while.

The voice over opening using a man’s voice rather than Sarah’s had a bit of a cheesy quality to it and I found that it detracted from the whole feel of the introduction of the episode. The slow motion struggle (with its musical accompaniment) involving Sarah (Lena Headey) and John (Thomas Dekker) and the bad guys du jour was a little drawn out for my tastes and also seemed to ruin the atmosphere for me as well.

Also a mystery is why James Ellison (Richard T. Jones) was spared by the massacre at the hands of terminator Cromartie (Garret Dillahunt). I suppose that Cromartie thinks that he will be able to use Ellison somewhere down the road. And since Cromartie is from the future, he may already know that he needs Ellison for some reason to help bring down John.

An interesting twist was Cameron’s (Summer Glau) programming getting a little confused, and she seems to forget that her charge is to protect John Connor and instead thinks she has to terminate him. And, when she’s trapped between two trucks, one being driven by Sarah, she uses every trick in the book to get John not to pull out her programming module. Still, John yanks it anyway, but later, to the horror of his mother, takes a chance and puts it back in. It seems Cameron is back to “normal” – at least for now. Again, this is one stunt that the show can only do so many times before it becomes and overused plot device. The question lingers, though, is Cameron more than just the sum of her programming, or can she really feel and rationalize her importance to John’s cause?

I also found myself wondering how Charley Dixon (Dean Winters) could go so long with having his ambulance, and himself, out of commission for his work without it creating a problem for him. And one good thing – yet also a bad thing – was when John cut his hair. I was glad he cut it but yikes, the new cut wasn’t a big improvement.

The real story is the pursuit of the “Turk” which is supposed to be the eventual key to the computers – Skynet - being able to take over in the future. And Catherine Weaver (Shirley Manson) is in charge of a company who plays a big part in it. When she tells her staff that she’s starting a new division called Babylon that will change the world, and will be pirating people from their teams, not everyone is happy about it. Who two of the department heads are in the men’s room talking about Babylon - one of them very vocal against it – we see that Catherine Weaver is really a T-1000, who morphs from the form of the urinal, into a her liquid metal form, then into her human looking form. Of course, one of her fingers forms into a pointed knife, which spears her disgruntled employee in the head.

While the Sarah Connor Chronicles runs the risk of being repetitive and predictable, the twist at the end was just enough of a tease to create more interest and excitement for next week. One things is for sure…men will be watching their urinals very closely.


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Mad Men “Gold Violin” Plays Out

This episode was called the “Gold Violin” after the short story written by Ken Cosgrove (Aaron Staton). Ken was inspired by seeing a gold violin that is “perfect in every way but won’t make music.” A fitting title for the episode, which showed that even when everything looks perfect on the surface for the Sterling Cooper employees and their families, their lives are far from it.

Don Draper (Jon Hamm) is having second thoughts about buying a new Cadillac Coupe De Ville. He flashes back to his days as a car salesman, when a woman calls him out for not being the real Don Draper.

Jane (Peyton List) gets fired by Joan (Christina Hendricks) for “breaking into” Mr. Cooper’s (Robert Morse) office to show the guys Cooper’s new painting. But her coyness with Mr. Sterling (John Slattery) pays off when she uses his desire for her to help get her get her job back. Clearly, Joan’s power is being challenged, but I don’t see Joan lying down and taking it, so to speak.

Ken shows his short story to Sal (Bryan Batt), and Sal invites Ken to his home for dinner to give his opinions of Ken’s work. Something clearly is bothering Sal’s wife, Kitty (Sarah Drew) . She doesn’t like the attention that Sal is lathering over Ken, in fact, Sal looked more longingly at Ken than he did his own wife. It seemed obvious that Sal wants more of a relationship with Ken. Ken, on the other hand, sees Sal and Kitty’s marriage as an example of what he wants in life.

The Smiths come up with a youthful approach to the Martinson Coffee ad campaign, which helps them land it. It also gets Don a place on the board of the Museum of Early American Folk Art, and Don is told that "Philanthropy is the gateway to power." He is also told how important connections are in the business and in the world, and with this “curtain” opening for Don and him being told to “take his seat”, he decides to buy the Cadillac. But, while Don’s wife Betty (January Jones) is thrilled at the car, she’s not so thrilled when, at a party at the Stork Club with comedian Jimmy Barrett (Patrick Fischler) to celebrate his new show with ABC, Jimmy drops a bomb on her about his suspicions of Don’s relationship with Jimmy’s wife, Bobbie (Melinda McGraw). Likewise, Jimmy drops the same bomb to Don that he knows what’s going on with Don and Bobbie. In fact, Barrett says he “goes home at night and laughs” at Draper, and that “You’re garbage, and you know it.” As Jimmy says good night to both Don and Betty, they both look stunned. Driving home, Betty throws up in the car, probably partly from her drinking, partly from her realization of what’s been going on with Don and Bobbie, and…could she be pregnant too?

Also interesting is that in this perfect world, the family is seen openly littering in the park, Don throwing away his can, and Betty just leaving all the trash from their picnic. In fact, that may have been the perfect representation of the episode, because is shows that no one seems to be thinking of the long term effects of their actions, and as a result, their lives are slowly being scattered like trash thoughtlessness left for someone else to clean up.

What made this episode so interesting is that all the positioning that has been taking place over the last several episodes are now threatening major repercussions, especially for Don Draper. While Don sees his position of power growing and his life becoming richer because of it, there is also the fear that his real identity will somehow be revealed, and destroy it all. Just as bad is that his philandering has been exposed to this wife, who I am sure will never look at him the same way. And will Don deny any future advances of Bobbie Barrett? Jimmy made it clear that he thinks lowly of Don, and probably wouldn’t hesitate to destroy his job, since he may have already helped destroy his marriage. Betty’s throwing up in the car could have meant several things, but it seemed clear that Betty and Don know that trouble is ahead for their marriage.

In addition, we could be seeing a glimpse of what the effects Sal’s “man-crush” on Ken will have in his marriage and in the workplace. His perfect looking life may also get tarnished quickly.

But a knock down surely will be coming with Joan and Jane. Somehow, I see that Joan will find a way to pay back Jane for going over her head with Roger Sterling.

So like a gold violin, their lives of the people at Sterling Cooper certainly look pretty, but their lives aren’t playing out very well. And like the litter left in the park, their lives are becoming trash, left behind without having to worry about the mess. But, unlike trash, they will be left to pick up their own mess, one way or another.


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The TV News Media: Friend or Foe?

It’s hard to get away from politics these days. With the both the Democratic and Republican conventions occurring in the past two weeks, television viewers have been inundated with news about the candidates and their running mates. I am somewhat of a news junkie, and while I don’t sit glued to CNN or MSNBC or Fox news as a rule, I do make sure that I check news sites many times during the day for updates. And I for one am grateful not only for the Internet to deliver timely news, but also for the TV media's dogged coverage of politics. Sure, sometimes when there isn’t much news to report, they tend to throw in celebrity news that really isn’t news at all, but I suppose one must sometimes take the bad with the good.

With the announcement of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate, the Republicans got what they wanted – to knock the news of Barack Obama’s DNC speech off the air and put the Republicans back on top of the news. The problem is, they got too much of what they wanted when the media took Governor Sarah Palin and put her under their microscope. This is the double-edged sword that politicians must deal with. It’s been that way for as long as I can remember, and it won’t change any time soon.

The extensive television coverage that Palin received resulted in a jab being thrown, by her, at the media during her acceptance speech to the Republican National Convention, when she said (quoted from the transcript) “But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country. Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people.” Other republican pundits have been crying foul over what they perceive is harsh treatment of Sarah Palin and her family by the media.

I am not quite sure what their problem is – they wanted coverage, and they got it. Sure, it wasn’t the coverage they needed, but they got it just the same. I had already gone on record on one of my other blogs (here) that children should be off limits (unless they chose to be involved) in a parent’s political campaign. But, that doesn’t mean that the media doesn’t have the right to question and grill the candidate themselves on the issues that are important and relevant to the job.

It seems that now the McCain campaign is using the extensive media coverage of Palin’s family as an excuse to keep her under a proverbial lock and key. It seems that there has been virtually no media access to Palin at all since she was announced as McCain's running mate. And after her swipe at the media during her speech, the media may be showing its annoyance. For example, on MSNBC, Nicole Wallace (insert chuckle from Law & Order Criminal Intent fans here) of the McCain campaign was on MSNBC. She was in a discussion with Time Magazine’s Jay Carney on Palin’s speech and we get this dialog (video also below):

CARNEY: We don't know yet and we won't know until you guys allow her to take questions, you know, can she answer tough questions, you know, domestic policy, foreign policy--

WALLACE: But I mean like from who? From you? Who cares?!

CARNEY: Who cares? I think the American people care.

WALLACE: I think the American people want to see her -- I mean who cares if she can talk to Time Magazine? She talked to the American people. The American people want to say, "How am I going to save my home?" She can answer that question. ... She took the stage and talked to the American people about things they care about: How they're gonna save their homes.

It is clear that Carney is frustrated that Palin is not being made accessible, and he wrote about it (full text below), saying that “According to Wallace…the American people will learn all they need to know (and all they deserve to know) from Palin's scripted speeches and choreographed appearances on the campaign trail and in campaign ads.”

At this point, I am sure both television media and print media are like sharks who smell blood in the water. If anything, this apparent sequestering of Palin only makes the media more curious that she has something to hide, or is weak on certain issues and requires extensive preparation for her to be able to talk intelligently on issues, such as the economy. And with television news outlets like CNN, MSNBC, and Fox who have 24 hours of television time to fill, if they can’t fill it with anything they get directly from Palin, they will go out and dig it up for themselves via other sources. In a way, that is what makes the television news media so great, at the same time making them something to fear.

I for one am grateful for the service that the news media performs. And while the 24-hour TV coverage sometimes means that they have to fill holes will things that really aren’t meaningful, I may not like it, but there’s nothing preventing me from changing the channel. In the case of political coverage, though, television news is invaluable, in that it is the equivalent of having thousands of eyes and ears looking at what is happening in politics all around the country at all times. It’s a great improvement over what I experienced in the 1960s as a kid, when there was only a small time slot for national news in the evening, and everything was carefully choreographed and scripted, and sometimes days late (if it was reported at all). But these days, TV news – as well as the print and Internet media – have the upper hand because they can react and report with virtual lightning speed to millions and millions of viewers. So the lesson is clear: politicians should take great care when they try to manage the media to their own advantage, and they should be careful what they ask for – because they just might get it. And never bits the hand that feeds you.


As I mentioned above, Jay Carney wrote his own piece on the MSNBC matter; here it is:

No Questions, Please. We'll Tell You What You Need To Know.
September 4, 2008 5:07
Posted by Jay Carney

According to Nicole Wallace of the McCain campaign, the American people don't care whether Sarah Palin can answer specific questions about foreign and domestic policy. According to Wallace -- in an appearance I did with her this morning on Joe Scarborough's show -- the American people will learn all they need to know (and all they deserve to know) from Palin's scripted speeches and choreographed appearances on the campaign trail and in campaign ads. Here's the exchange:




Wallace's bash-the-media exercise has its merits as a campaign tactic. It certainly rallies the base. But the base won't lift McCain to 50% in November. More importantly, in her smug dismissal of the media's role in asking questions of the candidates, Wallace was really showing contempt not for reporters, but for voters. I bet there are a lot of undecided voters out there who were intrigued by Sarah Palin last night, but who don't yet know enough about her -- what she believes, what she knows -- to be comfortable with the idea of her as vice president of the United States. It's important to them to know if Palin can handle herself in an environment that isn't controlled and sanitized by campaign image makers and message mavens. Maybe she can, maybe she can't. As far as Wallace is concerned, it's none of their -- or your -- business.





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Bones “Yanks in the UK” Trite, Yet Entertaining

The 2-hour season premier of Bones, “Yanks in the UK” provided a change in venue for Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and FBI Special Agent Seely Booth (David Boreanaz). We find them both in London on speaking engagements. When a body of the daughter of a wealthy American is found in a car in the river, Booth and Bones meet their parallel-universe UK versions, with female Inspector Pritchard (Indira Varma) and male Dr. Ian Wexler (Andrew Buchan). Thos gets them involved with royalty, and later, gets them involved in the apparent murder of Dr. Wexler.

Back at the Jeffersonian, besides the team investigating the forensics from the murder, Angela’s (Michaela Conlin) ex-husband Grayson (Sean Blakemore) returns, finally grants her a divorce, and has a fling with Dr. Saroyan (Tamara Taylor), causing some friction within the team – and between Jack (T.J. Thyne) and Angela.

The episode, as in all episodes of Bones, was entertaining. But, I found it somewhat flawed. This series, which seemed to start heavy with science in the first season, has evolved into story lines heavy on the relationships. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, since the entire cast has great chemistry. But Clark Edison (Eugene Byrd) had I right when, at the end of the show, he says he wants to work more of the science. With this episode, there was almost too much fluff and not enough substance. The murder cases took a back seat to the soap opera, so to speak.

And while I enjoy the interactions between Booth and Bones, which frankly are the core of the show, in this episode, Booth comes off as being more of what’s called in the scientific circles, a “doofus maximus.” I found it silly that he had such extreme troubles driving on the London streets, and even more trouble parking the car, which he did no better than a student driver. The show seems to be going a little overboard on focusing on the brains of Temperance Brennan, all the while making Booth into a running joke. I would have preferred that they make him a little more FBI Agent and less into just window dressing.

The “drama” back at the lab also seemed too much and detracted from the murder case. It’s not that the relationship with Angela and Jack bore me, it’s just that I’m just not all that interested.

Moving the show to London was a nice change of pace, but frankly I found it a little hard to believe that both Brennan AND Booth were needed there for speaking engagements. The one good part of the show is that we were treated to Indira Varma, who I have become more impressed with her in every show where I’ve seen her. The downside is that I had to repeatedly turn up the volume on my TV every time she spoke as she seemed a little too quiet. The location sometimes detracted, as it became just a backdrop to highlight Booth’s growing idiocy. Frankly, it made me yearn to see a real grown up crime drama set in London (I have my hopes set on the up-coming UK version of Law & Order with Jamie Bamber, which hopefully someone will pick up in the US. But I digress.)

All my criticisms aside, I thought this two hour episode was enjoyable. It probably only needed an hour if all the distractions with the soap opera happenings at the Jeffersonian were cut out. I would like to see a little more grown up Booth emerge over the season, rather than regress any further. And maybe, just maybe, they’ll get back into the science.


Here’s a behind the scenes look at this episode :




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Prison Break Jumps The Shark

OK, that’s it. Prison Break, after an awful season at the Sona Prison, has broken out of that storyline and officially jumped the shark. For those of you who don’t know what that means, the phase comes from a 1977 episode of the Happy Days, when Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli jumped over a shark while water skiing. The scene was laughable, and viewed as a desperate attempt to revive the ratings of the dying series. So now, when a show is said to “jump the shark” it means that the writers have done something so ridiculous, or out of character, that is suspends belief and alienates fans. Sometimes new characters or meaningless plot devices can contribute.

In the case of last night’s season premier of “Prison Break,” I think it was the entire 2-hour show.

The acting was flat and downright horrible. It seemed like everybody was going through the motions. Worst of all was the introduction of Donald Self (Michael Rapaport), who ropes the gang into helping work against “The Company" to get the "Scylla" data cards back. It seemed like he was doing no better than reading lines off a cue card. If he was supposed to be cold, or calculating, or even intimidating, he just did not work for me.

I also found it hard to believe that this rag-tag group of people, which include idiots like Bellick (Wade Williams), are expected to pull off a “Mission Impossible”-like job to get back these data cards with information about Scylla, when no one else has been able to do it. What was a joke was that to get at the card – of which they originally thought there was only one – they have to get into a house that supposedly has impenetrable security. First they get a reading device into the maid’s bag – way too easy – but then, when the maid leaves it in the house, they have to break into the house anyway to get it back. And breaking in was too easy. Setting off an alarm in one house to draw this super-skilled security detail off the house they were supposed to be guarding was just silly. Bottom line is, the house wasn’t so impenetrable after all, seeing that they basically walked in, and walked right out. And there was an easier way to get the card back. She could have found the maid again at the bus stop, saying she thinks she accidentally dropped her PDA into the maid's purse, and could the woman check for it, or get it back? No, that would be too simple.

I could accept the fact that Sara Tancredi was alive, seeing that I never though the head in the box that Linc (Dominic Purcell) saw really was Sara to begin with. Still, it seemed that the chemistry between her and Michael seemed to have evaporated. Yes, they seem to be together, but the spark is missing. It’s not just the fact that Sara was tortured and has been in hiding, I think it’s the whole magic between Wentworth Miller (Michael) and Sarah Wayne Callies (Sara) is gone.

And please, I found the whole burning off of Michael’s full-body tattoos to be ludicrous. First of all, I don’t think someone could remove a whole body tattoo in one treatment without anesthetic. Second of all, I don't think he'd be standing or walking around so soon afterwards, much less wearing clothes on his scorched skin.

Since there has to be someone who is out to get the entire prison break crew because “The Company” wants them removed, we get a new bad guy, Wyatt (Cress Williams) who serves as a one-man killing crew. After all, since Kellerman (Paul Adelstein), who was one of the best bad guys around, had long been out of the picture, they needed to put someone in there just to make for a chase. Snore.

We are also expected to believe that the whole team – well except maybe Linc – is willing to put all their animosity aside just to get their hands on Scylla. And even Linc seems to be too resigned to the fact that he has to work with the team. Still, Sara, at one point, seemed to be smiling and laughing at Bellick, which seemed hard for me to rationalize. Of course, the only person who seems to be able to hold his own, no matter what his role has been with the entire process, is Mahone (William Fichtner), who in my opinion, is the only person able to pull off consistently decent performances in each episode, no matter what he’s doing.

Even T-Bag (Robert Knepper) who seems to have nine lives, is wearing thin. The line "Eat some bad Mexican?" that was dished to him seemed initially funny, and then, not so much. After all, for just snacking on his traveling companion, he looked a little too clean for me. But, since T-Bag has the bird book that is so critical to finding Scylla, I guess we’ll have to contend with him for a while longer.

A disappointment was that Gretchen (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), who initially seemed to be targeted for certain death, is still alive. Personally, I rather liked the fact that she would be out of the picture. One never knows, maybe that bullet that Whistler (Chris Vance) took to the head was really just a flesh would and he’ll be resurrected soon as well. Anything apparently can happen in teh Prison Break universe.

But even more incredible is that despite all that everyone that was in that hell hole prison Sona is back together, including Sucre (Amaury Nolasco), everyone seemed healthy and well. Especially Mahone, who looked nothing like the drug addicted head case we saw at the end of last season. I expected all of them to look a little worse for the wear.

Now that we know there are five more Scylla data cards that they need to find, this means that the season may wind up being more of the same of what we saw in the season premier. It may not be enough for me to rekindle my interest in the show, but at this stage, I feel I have to finish what I started and continue to watch, just to see how it plays out. But I’m not sure I’m going to like it.



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“Raising the Bar" Lowers the Standards

I had some moderately high hopes for TNT’s new legal drama, “Raising the Bar.” After all, TNT did such a great job with "The Closer." But, my hopes were dashed after watching the premier episode last night on TNT.

It wasn’t horrible, mind you, it was just OK. It had me asking myself, “do we really need another legal drama?” There was something that reminded me a little bit of Dick Wolf’s failed legal drama "Conviction.” They weren’t the same, but there was just something about the feel of “Raising the Bar” that seemed so familiar but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. It could be that the law end of the show left me flat.

I admit that part of my problem is that I have never been a Steven Bonchco fan. I abhorred NYPD Blue and dropped that off my viewing list after the first few episodes. I even tried watching that show again after David Caruso left, and there wasn’t much improvement in my mind, so I don’t think the problem was Caruso.

Because I’m too lazy to recap the episode, here’s a quick snapshot of Ted Cox's summary and observations, from The Daily Herald:

When an assistant district attorney can't stop staring at the chest of one of his underling lawyers, she tells him to put up and drop trou right there in the office or shut up. Of course, he's not her real love interest. According to the TV Critics' Code, I'm not at liberty to reveal just who that would be, but I'll offer a hint: The show stars former "NYPD" studmuffin Mark-Paul Gosselaar. Elsewhere, a prissy defense attorney finds himself working for a jealous convict who cut off another convict's penis. And a law clerk charms the mercurial judge he works for by serving as her boy toy, although in his off hours he's more of a boys' toy.

Remember when it was enough for Bochco to show David Caruso's bare rear end or - worse - Dennis Franz's to be outrageous?

Those more innocent days are gone, however. Bochco is working in cable now, and "Bar" has to be at least as out-there as "Saving Grace," the Holly Hunter police show it is replacing for the time being on TNT. So Bochco borrows a few trashy touches from the Kelley playbook.

Is it mere coincidence that TNT even produced the "Bar" media guide in the form of a legal pad - Kelley's weapon of choice in writing a script?

All that's by way of saying "Bar" will do anything to keep a viewer engaged, but at the same time a viewer knows exactly what it's doing to keep the audience engaged. It's the same old idealistic legal procedural gussied up with a few new truly blue sideshows.

Gosselaar plays Jerry Kellerman, an up-and-coming defense attorney as cocky as he is scruffy. When Melissa Sagemiller's bodacious, blue-eyed ADA Michelle Earnhardt offers his client a sweetheart deal to plead out a rape case (shhh, remember, we're not yet supposed to know they're into each other's briefs), he gets his client to accept it (in a teary scene) even though the client would rather fight for his innocence.

Enter former "Malcolm in the Middle" mom Jane Kaczmarek as the neurotic, egotistic Judge Trudy Kessler, who scotches the plea and forces the lawyers to go to trial. Earnhardt, playing the legal game, fights the good fight even as she all but throws the case, but when the defendant is found guilty of a lesser charge Kessler throws the book at him and gives him more prison time than he would have gotten under the plea. So Kellerman goes ballistic and gets threatened with contempt.

"I'd rather be in jail," he says, "than free and a part of the system that put him there."

"Well, I'm happy to oblige you, counselor," replies Da Judge.

Legal memo to Kellerman: Look, lawyer boy, when your client is innocent, prove it in court, don't whine about the system. It takes a better actor than you - Al Pacino, for instance - to even try to pull off that grandstanding ploy.

Anyway, Kellerman proves to have a loyal ally hidden away in Jonathan Scarfe's Charlie Sagansky, the judge's kissing clerk, and I believe even a clod as clueless as Denny Crane can connect the dots from there.

Some other cast members are along to add spice. Former "ER" doc Gloria Reuben plays Kellerman's boss, and Currie Graham is the ADA with the roving eyes. Teddy Sears of "Ugly Betty" is the style-conscious defense attorney with the prison pickle plucker for a client, and J. August Richards is Marcus McGrath, an idealistic prosecutor who at one point feels compelled to point out, "Even a busted watch is right twice a day."

Bochco helped mold the story, but his new legal-eagle colleague David Feigue wrote the script, so blame him for cliches like that.

"Bar" finds TNT's - and Bochco's - creative juices flagging. It shouldn't keep Holly Hunter's "Grace" from reclaiming its rightful place after "The Closer" when it returns to finish its second season. But I will say this about "Bar:" Even Bochco at his worst is still better than David Kelley at his best.



Well, I think that about says it all. Will I bother to watch “Raising the Bar” again? Probably not. There is going to be too many other shows to watch on Monday nights that “Raising the Bar” will be lowered to the bottom of my list.


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