My Updated House Diagnosis – Predictable, Forced, Flat

Back in November 2007, I wrote in this blog (here) that I had some concerns about Fox’s show, “House”. Several episodes and a writer’s strike later, I still have similar concerns.

After watching last night’s episode “No More Mr. Nice Guy”, I found that despite a reallocation of the old cast and addition of some new players, the show still falls into a predictable pattern: the patient of the week falls ill, gets to Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital (PPTH), and House (Hugh Laurie) and his team get involved. They can never diagnose the illness immediately, despite the fact that House is supposed to be one of the best diagnosticians in his field. House and his new team do the same as the old team – they try various tests, treatments and diagnoses until, toward the end, someone has an epiphany and comes up with the real cause of the illness. Interspersed in this is interaction with Dr. Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard). Also part of the pattern is House’s manipulating and playing games with his staff and his friends.

This particular episode was really no different. There was mention of a nurses’ strike, but with the exception of a slightly backed up ER and one situation where the patient of the week needed help, you’d never know there was any strike going on. This was a missed opportunity for the show to do something different, but they didn’t capitalize on it. Maybe it was supposed to be some kind of left-handed reference to the writers’ strike, but still it really was a story element that could have been dropped and it wouldn’t have mattered.

This episode also focused on Wilson’s relationship with Amber (Anne Dudek ) and its affect on House. Frankly, I found the whole scenario forced and staged. I never felt at one point that there was anything more to this relationship than the chance for the writers to force a twist with the House/Wilson friendship. In fact, I think during each encounter with House, Wilson, and Amber, it was as if I could actually see the writer putting the dialog together. To me, good writing is when the writers seem transparent and the dialog seems natural. It reminded me of how the series “The West Wing” felt after Aaron Sorkin left when writers tried to recapture Sorkin’s style - they never could. The writing for "House" is witty and funny, but it increasingly is becoming more predictable, phonier, and much less real.

The new cast members are also lacking somewhat. The doctor named “Thirteen” (Olivia Wilde) is as wooden as a dead tree. My opinion is they hired her for a certain look, but didn’t seem to care that she can’t act. She seems like she is reading lines at best. The other two new docs, Taub (Peter Jacobson) and Kutner (Kal Penn) are somewhat better, but in this episode, Taub seems to be falling into a too-predictable character pattern. Kutner seems to actually show some interesting promise, and frankly he was one character that initially I did not think would fit very well. These new doctors also do what House’s old staff used to do – guess at possible diagnoses. The problem is that House’s old staff seemed to be a little more focused and more convincing in their guesses.

House’s old team to some extent has become window dressing. Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) and Chase (Jesse Spencer) make appearances that don’t really contribute much to the story at hand, only serve as a vehicle for Chase to ask Cameron if she ever slept with House. At this point, who cares? The only one of House’s old team who seems to still have a prominent role is Foreman (Omar Epps). I think that Foreman has maintained a strong character, despite the fact that he still doesn’t seem to be able to stand up to House. I continued to be disappointed in Dr. Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) who seems to be there for House to make juvenile, sexist references. Cuddy seems more ineffective than ever, being relegated to resolving a silly custody dispute between House and Amber of the hapless Wilson, who seems clearly dominated by Amber. This whole House/Wilson relationship is starting to feel staged and, well, strange.

I thought the whole testing of a vial of House’s blood was also completely off base, not to mention the outcome predictable. When they got the results of House’s test, I knew immediately it was probably not House's blood or a ruse created by House.

While I watch “House” regularly and will continue to do so, it is quickly falling off my list of favorite or “must see” shows. Why? The whole edginess is gone. Wilson has become a weakling who is unable to manage his relationships. House’s team seem to be going through the same motions as the old team, this time without the passion, the intensity, or the chemistry of the old team. Cuddy has been relegated to being a vehicle for sexual innuendo. House’s old team is wasted on worthless scenes. And I don’t seem to care at all for the patients.

My prescription? The writers need to stop catering to House fan forums and "shippers," and give the viewers scenarios and dialog that focuses more on realism, and less on bringing the funny. They need to bring back the drama and drop back on the witty repartee. They need to look back at the first two seasons and try to bring back some of House’s inner angst – but without the drugs. They need to worry less about making me laugh and work on making me THINK.

And that’s my revised diagnosis.

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General Hospital: I See Dead People!

I don’t watch The Soaps very often. When I do, I usually try to catch One Life to Life and General Hospital. I have no idea why I even bother anymore. But sometimes television can get so boring, and even with limitless choices there still doesn’t seem to be any good programming on, so I turn on The Soaps just to see if anything new is happening. (Usually I can go months and still find the same storyline going on with little changes over that time.)

While watching GH today, though, I saw one of the most ludicrous storylines ever: Nikolas Cassadine (Tyler Christopher) is seeing his dead girlfriend, Emily Quartermaine (Natalia Livingston). I was so happy when Emily met her maker in what seems like a year ago…yet she still lives on in the mind of Nikolas, who seems desperate for the hallucinations to continue.

This is not the only dead character that continues to have a presence on GH. Occasionally we see Alan Quartermaine (Stuart Damon) who has returned to haunt his sister Tracy (Jane Elliott).

I just cannot figure out the people who are running this show. They get rid of characters…but then find reasons to bring them back. Is this a case of the show not understanding their fan base? Do they kill off a character thinking no one will care and then have second thoughts? In the case of Emily, they should have just left her dead. Killing off Alan, well, I think that was just a mistake on their part.

Now we have the ever-annoying Michael Corinthos (Dylan Cash) – who I like to call David Caruso in training - who is being booted from the show. This kid has been annoying for years, and now that he appears to be in a coma, we can only expect that 6 months down the road, his character will return to the show, magically matured to the age of 18 or 21 or something like that. This is another case of the show letting a kid grow into a role, only to find them horribly restrained by the kid's awkward age. The only way they can get out of the mess is some sort of convenient tragedy – in the case Michael being shot by a bullet meant for his father. Of course, the real news is that they are recasting Michael’s role for someone older – which is why poor young Michael will be in a coma for a little while.

I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat it again – it’s no wonder that shows like General Hospital find themselves continuing to loose viewership. The viewers expect stories to be at least somewhat credible. It’s always been a soap standard that anybody who dies on the show in some sort of mysterious way can usually turn out not to be really dead, and return to the show. But if you’re clearly shown dead on the show – excuse me, but YOU’RE DEAD and we shouldn’t see your face anymore. Well, except when they want to bring back the character as some sort of twin that nobody ever knew about, or some sort of doppelganger. You know, that really sounds even more ridiculous when I put it into words.

So here’s a suggestion to the producers of The Soaps: make sure that when you kill off a character, that you really want them dead, because storylines where they magically come back are just plain silly. And make sure that before you kill off a major character that you have a really good idea that it’s what the viewers want. If you’re not sure, or you just want to leave your options open, find another reason to have their character leave other than death. This way if you want them to come back – or they want to come back – the show won’t look so foolish and the fans won't have their intelligence insulted.

So, General Hospital, please give Nikolas a lobotomy or something to make her stop seeing Emily so she can go ahead and be really dead. Have Alan get bored with haunting Tracy so Alan can rest in peace. And please find someone to replace Michael that doesn’t look like David Caruso, please.

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CSI Miami “To Kill A Predator” Kills With Boredom

I usually judge CSI Miami on a somewhat different rating scale because I have to take into account the show’s cheesy factor. After all, the show is quite the opposite of a show like Law & Order, which tries to keep the show more grounded in reality. Even taking into account the cheesy factor, this episode “To Kill A Predator” was probably one of the worst I’ve seen. In fact, I'm giving it my first ever "I Like to Watch TV's Caution Tape Award ©."

In this episode, the CSI Miami team is tracking down who they think is a vigilante that is killing Internet predators. OK, this premise has probably been done many times before by just about every crime show on television. I bet it’s probably been done by the CSI franchise shows themselves in some shape or form over the years. It’s not a novel premise for a story and that’s a perfect way to set viewers up for boredom.

CSI Miami usually has a few inconsistencies in the show, but one seemed to jump out at me immediately. Very early in the episode, I believe while Horatio (David Caruso) was questioning the administrative assistant of the first murder victim, she said she was on the phone with the victim at 6:00 AM, when he was struck. Call me a nitpicker, but in the scene where he is run over by the car, looking at the shadows, the sun is clearly almost directly overhead. Usually I don’t care much about timeline issues, but that issue just seemed glaring.

6:00 AM in Miami?

CBS.com

The other thing I noticed is that the wardrobe department must either have gotten a lot of orange clothes on close-out or they just thought it was orange week. Several characters (Frank (Rex Linn), Ryan (Jonathan Togo), the administrative assistant, the murder victim’s daughter Hannah (Jordan Hinson), Heather Amberson (Vivian Dugre), and the predator show’s chat room guy Lou Durning (Peter James Smith)) were all decked out in some orange. Sometimes this show gets too single minded about color and that too contributes to boredom. In addition to this crush of orange, we get Natalia (Eva La Rue) going to work a crime scene in all white, and Alexx (Khandi Alexander) examining a bloody body at a crime scene in a light shade of tan. Maybe it’s just me, but those aren’t colors that I would even dream of wearing when working an area where there could be dirt OR blood. To me, it’s the equivalent of me going to work in my garden wearing white. OK, I know this is fantasy television, but it’s stuff like this that makes the show cringe-worthy.

We did get a special treat with Horatio working in the lab, trying to lift an impression off the murder victim’s briefcase. We used to see that a lot in the first season, but don’t see it too much anymore. I am not quite sure what was so special about this piece of evidence that required the extra special attention of Horatio Caine. Was it because he personally inspected it at the crime scene that it became so special? I guess even the mere gaze from Horatio onto an object endows a special property to it? Maybe it’s because Horatio had some sort of epiphany when he saw the man’s body after being run over, saying, “There’s a lot of anger behind this, Frank.” There you have it: Horatio Caine, Master of the Obvious.

This deserves Horatio's Special Attention

CBS.com

The manner in which they went about investigating the case was so convoluted. If a man were run down in such a vicious manner, wouldn’t one think that the police would first interview the family? But no, first we need to have someone identify the fuel on the murder victim’s body as (luckily) a very special bio-diesel. Then Horatio has to examine the briefcase, lift the plate number, which helps them to limit the pool of cars that could have been involved to very few, one of which is a car rented by (gasp!) the victim’s wife! Now, wouldn’t it have been much easier to have started with the wife first, maybe ask to see her vehicles, etc. Sure, the rental car was ditched before then, but maybe they would have been a step ahead of the game. They also send out helicopters to look for the car – I wonder why they just didn’t send out an all point bulletin to have the ground police force actually drive around and look for the car at ground level, you know, where cars actually drive?

We also get numerous red herrings, like Kevin Weaver (George Newbern), who has become a vigilante of sorts by trying to prevent kids from getting involved with chat room predators. Of course, no one in the Miami Dade police department bothered to check this guy’s background to see that lost a child to a predator.

Another problem I had was Horatio apparently going it alone when he tries to warn a young girl that a predator could be on his way to her home. Funny, but isn’t it possible that the girl could have thought that Horatio was the predator and faked being with the police to gain entry? Maybe the police should have tried to phone first? And what would have happened if the guy had already arrived by the time Horatio got there? Wouldn’t Horatio be putting her and himself at risk by trying to protect her on his own? Oh yeah, I forgot. It seems Horatio has decided that he can dish out his own justice, because we get the impression at the end that Lou Durning is going to resist arrest, whether he wants to or not. I think Horatio is turning to the dark side. Miami Justice, meet Horatio Caine Justice.

As far as the rest of the cast, they seemed to be phoning it in this whole episode. Maybe they were bored with it too?

So if you haven’t seen this episode yet, don’t bother. Move along….there was nothing to see here….


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CSI, CSI Miami, Law & Order SVU Cast Shakeups

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Fans, still reeling from the writers' strike and a stunted season for many favorite shows, now see the axes start to fall. In my opinion, some are welcome changes, some are not.

Let me get the welcome change out. Adam Beach, who plays Detective Chester Lake on Law & Order SVU, will be leaving at the end of the season. I only wish he could have already left, or maybe never even started with the show at all. This was a serious case of terrible miscasting coupled with a very poorly conceptualized and poorly written character. While Beach has done good work in other efforts (“Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee”) he just did not fit here. And maybe, just maybe, Beaqch's leaving means we get more John Munch (Richard Belzer) who was horribly ignored this season.

Two changes were made that have me on the fence. The first is Diane Neal, who played ADA Casey Novak, also on Law & Order SVU. I didn’t like Diane in the role to start, and it seemed over her time with the show they tried to change her look a bit. I wasn’t sure if they were trying to harden her or soften her. Sometimes her character was there to protect the victim, sometimes she seemed to work for the defense, sometimes she just seemed downright incompetent. I think my problem was not so much with Neal as it was with Novak. But, I say this may be a good change for SVU in the long run. Let’s get a guy in there as ADA this time.

The other one where I’m on the fence is Khandi Alexander, who has played Medical Examiner Alexx Woods since the start of the show. I’ve always been put off a bit by her overly made up appearance and the sight of way too much cleavage for an ME. She seemed to tone it down a bit this season – not completely mind you but just enough to make me look at her as an actress and not just another CSI Miami piece of meat. TV Guide’s Michael Ausiello is reporting the word may be that a man may replace her. I say this is a good move for the show. The only question is how will David Caruso be able to share screen time with another man! Gasp! I will stay tuned to watch the fireworks. By the way, news reports indicate that Khandi is not leaving under happy terms.

The one that makes me sad is Gary Dourdan, from the “original recipe” CSI. I always liked Gary in his role of CSI Warrick Brown. I felt the show gave him a lot of attention in the early seasons with some great storylines, then seemed to have him fade into the background behind the omnipresent Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger). But, over the last few years Dourdan has been involved in some not so positive publicity, so I guess it’s no surprise he’s out.

Of course, quite some time ago it had been announced that Jesse L. Martin, who is Detective Ed Green on Law & Order, will serve up his last episode on April 23, and it looks like he’ll be the subject of the case. Jesse was a great find for the Law & Order franchise and he will be missed, but it sounds like he is on his way to bigger and better things, one of them the starring role in a movie about the life of Marvin Gaye, called “Sexual Healing.”

I expect that there will be more down the road. We already know that some major character from NCIS is supposed to exit the show in a dramatic fashion before this season ends. What other changes for other shows could be coming? All we can do is….stay tuned!


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NCIS Improves But Major Shake-up Coming

I’ve been watching NCIS since the series began, and over the years I’ve had a sort of love/hate relationship with the show. Last season, the show seemed mired in an overly complicated story line with “La Grenouille” (Armand Assante) and the intolerable “Madame” Director (Lauren Holly). Added to the mix was overly juvenile sexual innuendo from Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva (Cote de Pablo). Despite what appeared to be a dumbing down of the show, I stuck with it because I liked some of the other lead characters, such as Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), Doctor Donald “Ducky” Mallard (David McCallum) and goth techno-geek Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perette).

This season, NCIS seems to have jettisoned some of the juvenile banter. Oh it’s still there, just not as forced and it’s a little less obnoxious. The two post-strike episodes that have recently aired seem to be a little tighter and a little more interesting. Maybe the crimes have been somewhat simplistic, but when the cast has great chemistry, I almost don’t mind if the plot isn’t overly complex or oppressive.

Now that the show seems to be growing up and gaining viewership, one can almost predict that an upheaval would have to come along, just to because that’s how things seem to work. And of course, an upheaval is coming. A story being reported from many sources, including Michael Ausiello of the TV Guide, says that a major cast member and series regular is going to be leaving the show. Michael Ausiello said “And as tempted as I am to blab this person's identity, after much soul searching, I've decided that doing so would prove WTS (Way Too Spoilery). And here's why: The actor in question will exit the series in a dramatic fashion. I might even go so far as to call it a major freakin' twist, the repercussions of which will be felt well into next season and, perhaps, beyond. One thing I feel reasonably comfortable letting you know is that the aforementioned twist does, in fact, occur this season — i.e., sometime between tomorrow night's post-strike return and the season finale in May.”

Well, part of me hopes that it would be Madame Director because I just absolutely cannot stand her. In fact, I don’t think many fans of the show DO like her, which makes me immediately exclude her from the list of people leaving. The reason is that fans wouldn’t consider it a twist, since most of them wish she’d have left the show a lot sooner.

Last year there were reports that there was trouble between the show’s producer, Donald P. Bellisario and Mark Harmon. But last fall there was news that Bellisario was backing away from having close hands-on involvement in the show, which seemed to appease Harmon because he’s still there. (Maybe this is why the show “grew up” a bit.) Still, I can’t help but think that Mark Harmon will be the one to leave. And you know, while I would be saddened to see him – or anyone else (except Madame Director) leave – I think the show has established itself enough to the point that it can afford a major shake-up.

So as long as this show can keep up the positive trend, I think it can handle a big change. In this day and age, a show can’t get too comfortable with its cast and it has to keep reinventing itself in order to keep things exciting. Let’s hope that NCIS is grown up enough to handle the change.


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Dancing with the CSI Miami Stars

I don’t watch “Dancing with the Stars” but I DO watch CSI Miami. In fact, the CSI franchise is probably right behind the Law & Order franchise on my list of favorite TV shows. Can you imagine what it would be like if your favorite CSI Miami stars did a dance show? Well, imagine no more. Here's my own version of what dancing with the CSI Miami stars might look like. You'll see some familiar FACES, like Horatio Caine – or is it his alter ego David Caruso? Some of his dances he even performs while wearing his sunglasses. Who knew he was so talented?

I know that there are tons of CSI Miami fans out there who will enjoy the humor. Have fun!

Dancing: CSI Miami Style



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CSI Miami: The Fictional Crime Lab's Real Location

The FAA Federal Credit Union, AKA Miami Dade CSI HQ

(Horatio Caine not included)

One thing about CSI Miami that I really like is the building that serves as the exterior of the Miami Dade Police Department’s Crime lab. You know, the building that looks curved and slightly askew.

Well, not only is it not in Miami, but it’s very far from it.

The building really stands in Hawthorne, California, and it’s the headquarters for the F.A.A. Federal Credit Union, located at 14600 Aviation Blvd. And also just as surprising, it is not shrouded in CSI Miami Fluorescent Orange Glow, and does not come with its own statue of Horatio Caine (David Caruso) standing there with his hands on his hips, and sunglasses on his face. (Although I am sure David wishes it did.)

This building was designed by Nadel Architects, Inc., is made of limestone and glass, and contains 35,000 square feet. It also has a noticeable 15 degree tilt, which is an homage to flight. This makes sense, seeing that it is an office building catering to people who support the aviation industry. Funny, I always thought that the building was tilted so it would look straight to David Caruso when he gets in his patented sideways stance.

So the next time you watch the show and see Horatio Caine on the steps of CSI Miami headquarters, rest assured he was nowhere near Miami. Which should be great a relief to those living in Florida.

Aerial View

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Monk and Psych: Dumb and Dumber

James Roday, Dule Hill

Against my better judgment, I watched both Monk and Pysch on Sunday when they aired on NBC. Call it an act of desperation for something new to watch. Now I know why I stopped watching these shows quite a while ago while they were airing on the USA Network.

I think these shows are written to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

I think Monk actually is a bit worse than Psych. Psych has one redeeming quality – James Roday, who plays the lead character, Shawn Spencer, fake psychic. He is actually somewhat entertaining to watch. He plays the perfect comedic role very naturally and effortlessly. It’s a shame that the stories are overly simplistic and the supporting cast uninteresting. Dule Hill really doesn’t do much but stand there. And the police staff is hopelessly flat. Corbin Bernsen is simply a distraction, because every time I saw him I thought “wow, he really let himself go.” But the boring plot and predictable case in this particular episode I watched - “Psy vs. Psy” was so easy to figure out that I knew how it was going to play out in the first 15 minutes.

But the real travesty is Monk. This show, which was so different an original during its first season, has become a caricature of itself. The obsessive-compulsive disorder for Adrian Monk when we first met him was both comic and sad. Now, it’s overdone and forced. For example, in this particular episode, “Mr. Monk Makes a Friend,” we are led to believe that Monk has never had a friend before. He literally runs into a man, Hal Tucker, at the supermarket (played by Andy Richter) and suddenly wants to be his best friend, for reasons I can’t completely comprehend. Of course, Tucker is the murderer that they just happen to be searching for, yet Monk allows this man into his home and permits him to basically be a slob in Monk’s place. Sorry, but the show shouldn’t play the OCD card with Monk and then just seemingly have Monk throw it out the window at the first whim. And Monk’s suspicions are never raised about this man who seems to be always there when Monk’s mail arrives.

Tony Shalhoub
While Tony Shalhoub is a great actor and is very convincing as Adrian Monk, they have made the character seem almost stupid and naïve. In Monk’s first season, I felt that while he suffered from OCD, he still was a smart, cagey detective. Let’s also not forget the supporting cast, who are bland and uninteresting. Traylor Howard (as Natalie), Jason Gray-Stanford (as Lt. Randall Disher) and Ted Levine (as Captain Leland Stottlemeyer) are an insult to law enforcement people everywhere. Monk – both the character and the show – has been dumbed down to the point that it is painful to watch. The plot of this particular story was insipid and predictable, which is why I stopped watching Monk a long time ago.

It looks like it will be a long time before I watch either of these shows again.

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Grissom’s Divine Comedy: A Seriously Good Episode

Photo from CBS

Last night’s episode of CSI, “Grissom’s Divine Comedy” was probably one of the best CSI episodes in a long time. The story opens with the death of a man who was set to testify in a grand jury after witnessing a gang leader – Emilio Alvarado (Robert LaSardo) - fleeing the scene of a previous murder. We’re introduced to Deputy District Attorney Madeline Klein (Bonnie Bedelia), who begs an ill Gil Grissom (William Petersen) to come and help her with the case, as Alvarado is set to be released in 52 hours if the grand jury is unable to return and indictment.

The case twists and turns, with the team discovering evidence that shows sabotage in the car of the witness, plus a gun in the glove compartment, which was triggered by the heat of the fire in the car. It also leads them to get a warrant for Alvarado’s apartment, which explodes as Grissom and Warrick (Gary Dourdan) approach. With the clock ticking and the team trying to connect all the pieces, the case leads them to different suspects for the murder of the witness, the original murder, and the apartment explosion.

Not only was the story itself top notch, but also the acting was the best I think I’ve seen on this show in many years. Particularly gripping was the scene where Jim Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) is explaining to Grissom about the circumstances where the witness decided to testify, and Brass gets choked up over the witnesses death. It seemed very real and maybe one of Guilfoyle’s best scenes ever on the show.

Bonnie Bedelia did a great job as Deputy DA Klein. Usually when a guest star or new character gets such a prominent role working with the CSI team, I’m usually prepared not to like them, maybe because they always don’t seem to fit. But her performance was great and she seemed to be very comfortable in the role. Her character has just enough flaws that it makes you want to learn more about her. At the end, she comments to Gil that he’s either her enabler or her soul mate. Frankly she does seem better suited for Gil than the always depressive and angst-filled Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox). Funny, I don’t miss Sara at all. By the way, I assume the phone call Gil got at the end – that brought a smile to his face – was supposed to be from Sara? Despite having some sort of “bug” (no pun intended, we know Gil likes real bugs) Gil seemed more grounded that I think he’s ever been. Maybe Sara's absence has removed the oppressive veil from his life?

This episode was the perfect mix of an interesting story, and interesting investigation, and interesting characters. We weren’t subjected to an overdose of Catherine (Marg Helenberger); and people like Warrick and Nick Stokes (George Eads) seemed to be behaving normally, with more focus on the case at hand.

I think it was worth the wait for this new episode, and I hope this means that future episodes will get back to the original quality the show had in earlier years. That would be just divine.


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Women’s Murder Club Returning Tuesday April 29

Photo from ABC

ABC is reporting that Women’s Murder Club is coming back with a few new shows, and starting on a new day, Tuesday, April 29. It will be competing with the always-strong performer Law & Order SVU, which may make it tough for WMC. Sorry Angie, you’re no Mariska Hargitay. Women’s Murder Club is somewhat mediocre, but could be better if the writing was a little better, the stories had more depth, and if Angie would gain a few pounds.


Here’s the story, from Zap2it,


“Women's Murder Club" is returning to ABC, but that will necessitate the movement of a couple of shows currently on the network's schedule.

The show, based on James Patterson's novels, will return to the ABC schedule with three new episodes at 10 p.m. ET Tuesday, April 29. And unlike its mediocre Friday-night timeslot earlier this season, the show will get a prime place on the schedule following the "Dancing with the Stars" results show.

The scheduling of "Women's Murder Club" on Tuesdays means that "Boston Legal," which resumes its season next week, will slide to Wednesday nights at 10 starting April 30. That, in turn, will bump "Men in Trees" from the schedule for several weeks. It will return Wednesday, May 28 for the final three episodes of its season.

"Women's Murder Club" stars Angie Harmon, Laura Harris, Aubrey Dollar and Paula Newsome as the titular club, a detective, prosecutor, reporter and medical examiner who pool their resources to solve murders. The show averaged about 9 million viewers a week during its run on Friday nights in the fall.

When the show returns, it will have a new showrunner in "Law & Order" and "ER" veteran Robert Nathan. He took over for creators Sarah Fain and Elizabeth Craft and executive producer R. Scott Gemmill, who were let go during the writers' strike. Patterson, Joe Simpson and Brett Ratner will remain as exec producers.


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The Animated David Caruso – Better than the Original

Image from Fox

Imagine my surprise when, while watching The Simpsons this past Sunday, to see a brief clip of an animated Horatio Caine (David Caruso), along with his trusty sidekick, Frank Tripp (Rex Linn). His sunglasses also make a cameo.

And you know what? He was better than the original David Caruso. I know that’s hard to imagine, but the brief, probably under 30 second spoof of CSI Miami captured the full essence of the show and its main man – er – I mean top dog – er – make that legend in his own mind, David Caruso.

If you missed it, the full episode of The Simpsons (called “Smoke on the Daughter”) is available on Hulu.com (video embedded below). So catch it while it lasts. The CSI Miami clip is less than three minutes into the show.

Enjoy!



The Simpsons "Smoke on the Daughter" from Hulu.com



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