24 “Prequel” Movie Slated For Fall

Well, it appears that we may get a little taste of 24 before the year is out. Several sources are reporting that a 2-hour “24” prequel will be airing in the fall. Well, I am indifferent about it. Maybe it’s because the 24 season came and went without Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) and the world as we knew it didn’t come to an end. Maybe it’s because there wasn’t any serious exciting buzz about the show BEFORE the writer’s strike started. Maybe it’s because I have become tired of Jack Bauer and company. I don’t know. Anyway, here’s the story from the Hollywood Reporter:

"Fox's "24" will be returning in the fall, after all.

The producers of the Emmy-winning series are developing a two-hour "prequel" to the upcoming seventh season.

The movie, designed to bridge the two-year gap between Seasons 6 and 7, is targeted to air in the fall, leading to the January return of the real-time drama. On Wednesday, "24" producers began securing the show's core cast members for the film.

"24" was one of the biggest casualties of the writers strike. Three days into the work stoppage, Fox decided against airing a partial season of the serialized drama with the eight episodes produced before and during the first weeks of the strike.


Each season of "24" is a closed arc that takes place in real time over a 24-hour period. The upcoming seventh season is set in Washington and features the first female U.S. president, played by Cherry Jones.

At the end of the writers strike, there were rumblings about a possible split of the seventh season into two parts to air in the fall and in midseason. But Fox was quick to put those rumors to rest, reiterating that the show's scheduling pattern will remain intact with a January launch.

The "24" writing team is back at work, with filming on the remaining episodes of the seventh season slated to begin in April. Missing from the writers room is the series co-creator/executive producer Joel Surnow, who left at the end of the strike. Since the fifth season, "24" has been run by exec producer Howard Gordon.

Fox and 20th Century Fox TV, which produces the series with Imagine TV, declined comment Wednesday. "

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New Amsterdam Hits, Canterbury’s Law Misses

OK, full disclosure right up front. I am becoming a real fan of Fox’s New Amsterdam, and I could never stand Julianna Margulies on ER.

Now that this is out of the way, here’s what I think of Fox’s Monday line up with Canterbury’s Law and New Amsterdam. They are polar opposites.

Julianna Margulies of Canterbury’s Law plays a defense attorney. Nothing special there. She’s as stiff as a board and seems like she’s reading her lines. New Amsterdam’s Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has an expressive face, flirts with the camera, and is very easy on the eyes. And this makes all the difference I whether I decide to continue to watch a show – or not.

In the case of Canterbury’s Law, the weak link is the star of the show, Julianna Margulies. Her acting skills seem not to have improved since her stint on ER, when she played nurse Carol Hathaway. He face seems to have one expression, even when she’s angry. It seems that her ability to emote comes out as either yelling, or speaking so quietly that she can hardly be heard. I’m still trying to figure out how the jury, much less the rest of the courtroom, could hear her questions to the victim’s father. No wonder he punched her in the face. I felt the same way.

As far as the plot of Canterbury’s Law, it seems to be another typical lawyer show, this time from the perspective of a defense attorney, of which many people don't carry high opinions. Of course, she lives up to the billing by getting her client to lie on the stand. No wonder people think lawyers are scum. I was hoping that she would have taken the high road but no, she gets the victim's father on the stand by getting her client to fabricate what he saw. Jack McCoy, she's not.

And her questioning of witnesses was laughable. She asks one detective, who has an obvious weight problem, what color shoes he was wearing that day, hoping to illustrate that if he couldn’t see his shoes, he couldn’t have seen the evidence he said he saw at his own feet. Well, the man had to pick out his shoes and put them on that day didn’t he, so wouldn't he know what they looked like? He could have easily answered her question and made her look like the fool she was. Now, I’m relatively fit and trim, but even I can spot something from a few feet away, just like this detective could have as well. I found Canterbury’s whole line of questioning throughout the show laughable and I am sure real defense attorneys who dared to watch this show are cringing in embarrassment. This is a show that you’ll want to miss.

As far as New Amsterdam, well, that’s a whole different story. The story is about a man who was made immortal 400 years ago, by a spell cast on him in return for saving the life of a Native American girl. He’ll continue to be immortal until he meets his one true love. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has an amazing presence. This man really knows how to play to the camera. His face is expressive – no matter what era he’s in – and you feel what he feels. But the real kicker in the most recent episode, “Soldier’s Heart,” is how he seemed so, well, overjoyed when he got that simple doctor’s exam from Dr. Dillane, who he believes to be is one true love. He was almost enraptured with it, and his face let it show. Not to mention the simple joy he seemed to get just when she took his pulse earlier in the show. (I had to check mine a few times, too.)

It doesn’t seem to matter what scene he’s in, you know exactly how he feels because it plays on his face and in his words. I think Fox has a real winner in Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and hopefully they will keep this show going long enough so it can build a fan base. Because we all know that if you get a solid, attractive, and compelling lead character, the viewers will come in droves. Did I forget to mention he is easy on the eyes? Oh yeah I did, sorry. The plots of the story and some of the cast are a little weak, but these things can be either easily fixed or even overlooked. This is one show that could be a hit of Fox gives it enough time to play out a bit. I hope they do.


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Should TV News Feature Disturbing Videos?

I am so tired of hearing during a new cast, something along the lines of “warning: this video may be disturbing” or “we have the shocking video” or “if you have little children you may want to have them leave the room." Many times these warnings come on during the morning or late day newscasts, when people – and families – are sitting down to breakfast or dinner.

Of course, there is usually only a nanosecond between the time the warning is given, and the time the video begins, so there is little chance to change the channel or get anyone out of the room. Of course, if one happens to be eating, these videos can sometimes ruin an appetite.

Has the news stooped so low for content that we have to see something almost daily that shows sometimes the most horrific side of humanity or people at their very worst? I know that the news media sometimes has to struggle to fill their time with content, especially for the never ending, ubiquitous morning shows which run hours on end. Still, if it’s something that they have to warn me about, does it really warrant a place on the daytime news? Or, would it kill them to say, for example, “in one minute we will show a video that may be disturbing so if you wish you can change the channel.” Don’t hold your breath to hear that, because stations never want you to change the channel away from them.

My suggestion is that with many people having Internet access, point the viewer to the station’s or network’s web site if they want to view the video. Or, tell viewers they will only show it on their late (10 or 11 PM) newscasts, which would probably only mean that more adult eyes will be looking at it.

And please, some of these videos really have no place on the news to begin with because it’s questionable whether some of them are really news. Since many people are getting their news from the Internet and places like YouTube, I can see where the TV networks have to try to stay in that loop if they want to continue to attract viewers.

But please networks, if you read this, at least give the viewers a chance to choose whether they want to see the shocking video of the day. To do otherwise is, well, just disturbing.

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New Amsterdam Pilot: Long Life or Short Run?

I was really excited about Fox’s new show, New Amsterdam, which aired the pilot episode last night (March 4). Not just because there’s been little new offered lately, but because the premise of the show sounded like it had so many possibilities.

I was a little disappointed, but not to the point that I would not continue watching.

The problem is typical with pilot episodes. Depending on the nature of the show, there could be a lot of back story to set up. When you only have an hour, it can lead to a muddled start. I think this was the case for New Amsterdam. I also think that it caused the other story line – the homicide case – to come across as weak and thinly told.

In case you missed the show or you didn’t think it was clear, here’s what it’s about. In the mid 1600s, New Amsterdam (which later becomes the modern day city of New York) is a Dutch colony. Dutch soldier John Amsterdam (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), steps in front of a sword to save the life of a Native American girl during a massacre of her tribe. The girl rescues John, and casts a spell that makes him immortal. Well, it has some conditions; he’s only immortal until he finds his one true love. At the present time, he lives in Manhattan as a homicide detective, and has a new partner Eva Marquez (Zuleikha Robinson). His current friend, jazz club owner Omar (Stephen McKinley-Henderson), knows that Amsterdam cannot die

Now, if you didn’t know all of this ahead of time, the first 10 minutes or so of the show may have had you scratching your head. I think this was a terrible mistake. Had it been me, I would have spent the time up front – it wouldn’t have needed much time – to collect all the scenes from his incident as a soldier, and then moved on to the present day. It would have made a lot more sense and would have been a better set up for what was to come.

The show provided some great shots of New York, and especially enjoyable were the photos of Times Square taken over many years. I could see the show using this device a lot and it never getting tiring for me, since I really enjoy seeing the passage of time shown by photographs.

While working the homicide case, John suffers a heart attack while chasing a victim. Was it a heart attack or was it because he was in close proximity to his one true love (“The One”), who seemed to be Dr. Sara Dillane (Alexie Gilmore)? Amsterdam believes that it’s her presence which started the problem, and while working the case, he still has in the back of his mind finding this woman.

While working the case, he comes upon an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s who he knew in the past. Clearly he’s surprised that she’s still alive, and she seems to have a glimmer of recognition. Her question “Do I know you” and his answer “Not any more” was expected, maybe from being overplayed in previews. But, her subsequently running out to him, with a clearer understanding of why she felt he was familiar, was great. She appeared to everyone else that she was just having another episode. But John knows this is not the case.

Hopefully we’ll get to see more of John’s talents he’s amassed over the years. Lip reading is one I would have never thought to pick up if I had all that time.

The cast has some weak spots. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is a great fit, with a face that would fit various time periods. Despite being a little quiet, he’s got presence and can be serious, funny, and disarming at the same time. They could have done better with the role of his homicide partner Eva (Robinson), who just didn’t appear to do much better than just simply reading lines and going through the motions. His friend Omar (McKinley-Henderson) should work well, and his age could play well off of Amsterdam's experiences.

So, will this be a short run for New Amsterdam or will it have a long life? Right now I can’t be sure, but I will be tuning in this Thursday (March 6) when Fox airs another episode.


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Law & Order Spoof Starring Gregory Itzin of 24

Do you like Law & Order? Do you like 24? If so, you'll enjoy this Law & Order spoof, from the web site “funnyordie.com.” It's called “Really Special Victims” and stars Gregory Itzin, of “24” fame. (He's no Sam Waterston, but he fits this role very well.)

The detectives are in search of the Law & Order sound – we know it as the doink-doink, of course. It has a funny twist at the end that you’ll enjoy, especially if you’re a 24 fan.



has a funny twist at the end that you’ll enjoy, especially if you’re a 24 fan.


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NBC’s Today Show: My Love Hate Relationship

I admit that at 7:00 in the morning, I turn on The Today Show. It is partly out of habit, partly out of boredom, and partly for an update on the national news. For the most part, I like the show and the hosts. They seem to have great chemistry and appear to enjoy working with each other.

But, there are a lot of things that annoy me about The Today Show. Maybe it’s because I do watch it so often that it seems that they’ve gotten complacent and seem to be going through the motions. It’s almost as if they could have robotic hosts doing the job just as well.

Here are a few examples of what’s wrong with The Today Show:

1. The constant “good mornings.” I’ve never counted how many times they say good morning to each other but it seems like it never stops. For example, Matt Lauer says “good morning” to Meredith, Meredith says “good morning” to Matt, they move to the news desk and say “good morning” to Ann Curry, she says “good morning to you,” then move to Al Roker where the "good mornings" abound. This continues with every guest or reporter that they introduce. By the time the first 20 minutes is over, it seems like one can hear “good morning” a hundred times.

2. While I generally like Meredith Vieira, she doesn’t seem to be a skilled interviewer nor does she have a good sense of her cues as to how much time she has remaining. There have been times she has to cut a person being interviewed very short, because she apparently lost track of time and spent too much time just asking the question that no time was left for an answer. She also sometimes talks right over the person’s answer.

3. Does the show really need a laugh track? I’m talking about The Today Show laugher, the guy who is behind the camera and is compelled to interject his loud “heh-heh-heh” anytime someone on the show does something funny. Newsflash to this guy: the show does not exist to entertain YOU. We know what is funny and when to laugh. Please be quiet!

4. Some of the people they bring on to interview are bad choices. There is nothing worse than bringing on some person who has just faced some horrible tragedy, and then ask a loaded question like “How did that make you feel when your house and all your belongings were completely obliterated by the tornado, in addition to you losing your spouse and your dog?” Or worse yet, they ask a question of someone who can only give a yes or no answer, or the flip side, someone who gives an overly lengthy answer. While that may be the downside of live TV, it may indicate that it’s time to pre-record some of these interviews to either filter out the junk or at least help the possibly inexperienced person not come off like an idiot.

5. Can anyone think of another word for “yes” that isn’t “absolutely?” It’s the same problem as the repetitive good mornings – using the word “absolutely” instead of just saying “yes.” Sadly, this happens the most with their repeat guests like the every annoying and ubiquitous Dr. Nancy Snyderman.

6. As the show goes on, they must think that the IQ level of the viewer drops, because the show digresses further and further into more shallow topics. By the fourth hour – which by the way I’ve only watched a few times for short periods, they get into things like makeovers and fashion. It’s boring.

7. The show sometimes is just a showcase for their own network – or their “sister” networks’ – shows. It is like I am watching an endless NBC infomercial, with them pushing their "stars" from other shows and networks. Example: how many times must we have CNBC’s Erin Burnett shoved down our throats?

8. Let’s not forget the repeated “This is Today on NBC” tag line, which alerts the affiliates a break is coming. Now really, in this technological day and age, do they really need a verbal cue?

I could probably continue to rant on what I don’t like about the Today Show, but since I’m listening to them now as I write this, I find it’s only making me doubly annoyed.

By the way, one may wonder why I still watch it if it annoys me so much. Truth is, I find myself watching it less and less. For days where there is big news brewing, I may leave it on until 8:15-8:30 before I just turn off the television. After all, I think NBC does have some of the best news coverage in the business and the Today Show can pull from that pool. But, if there isn’t much going on and their guest line up looks bleak I will probably turn it off much sooner.

Still, the Today Show is better than the other networks morning shows. I’m just not sure if that’s still a compliment.


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The Oscars – Snore

Hear that loud snoring sound? It’s coming from everybody that isn’t interested in the Academy Awards, being put to sleep at the mere thought of watching the show. I know that Hollywood breathed a collective sigh of relief when the writer’s strike was over because it meant that the Oscars could go on. Me? I could care less.

There hasn’t been a decent Oscar telecast in years. In fact, there haven’t been many – if any – decent MOVIES in years. It seems that weekly we are inundated with superficial horror films, corny animated movies, shallow romantic comedies, and comedies written for the teenage mentality. Even the period pieces like “Elizabeth, the Golden Age” were long on costumes and short on interest.

But, I could put all that behind me and watch the Oscar telecast if I knew that they would deliver a show that is witty, fast paced, interesting, and finishes on time. I suspect, based on past history, that none of that would happen.

So for me, I will pass on another bloated, boring awards show. I’m confident that I will find something on television that will be a better investment of my time. You know, something like an informercial?

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New Amsterdam: Worth a Look

There is a new series premiering on Fox on March 4 called “New Amsterdam, “ and it sounds intriguing.

The show is about a New York homicide detective who is immortal. At least, he can’t die until he meets his one true love. OK, maybe it sounds a little corny, but bear with me.

The story really begins in 1642, when John Amsterdam (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), who was a Dutch soldier in the colony of New Amsterdam, stepped in front of a sword to save the life of a Native American girl during a massacre of her tribe. The girl rescues John Amsterdam, and in return casts an ancient spell on him that made him immortal. She tells Amsterdam that he will not age until he finds his one true love, at which time he will become mortal.

Of course, the big problem with immortality is that time passes but you don’t, so to speak. So, over three centuries, he’s lived quite a life and polished his skills. Yes, it does sound a little like the movie “Groundhog Day” except it’s stretched over hundreds of years, and without Sonny and Cher singing “I Got You Babe” every time he wakes up.

But while Amsterdam lives, anyone that he loves, or his family, dies, leaving him to go on as a young man, and over time, he becomes isolated and lonely.

In the current time, his confidant and current “lifelong” friend (lifelong being an bit of an oxymoron for someone who is immortal) is a jazz club owner Omar (Stephen McKinley-Henderson), who knows Amsterdam’s secret, as well as having some of his own.

But, he puts his life experiences to good use by working on Manhattan for the NYPD as a homicide detective, along with his partner Eve Marquez (Zuleikha Robinson). Problems surface when Amsterdam seems to have a massive heart attack while chasing a suspect, and Dr. Sara Dillane (Alexie Gilmore) pronounces him dead in the ER. (Oops.) Of course, he’s not. He then realizes that the Indian girl’s prophesy may be coming true and that his soul mate must have been nearby. So the story continues to unfold as Amsterdam works to find killers – and maybe this one true love.

It sounds like the show has it all – mystery, suspense, drama, romance. OK, maybe it will run the risk of being a little corny, but since the writer’s strike has left us with virtually nothing new, I think this show is worth a serious look.

So if you’re interested too, stay tuned for the show, which will be airing on Fox on March 4, at 9:00 PM ET, 8:00 PM Central.


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Prison Break: A Colossal Disappointment

I really liked Prison Break in the first few seasons. But this last season has been a monumental snooze-fest. Back on January 15, I wrote in this blog (here) how disappointed I was in the show, liking it to being trapped in one of Dante’s Circles of Hell.

The subsequent episodes since my last blog on the show, and especially the finale that aired yesterday (“Art of the Deal”) left me confused and confounded. They seemed to be trying to build some mystery with the “Whistler” character (Chris Vance) but it just drummed up no interest, no suspense. In fact, the whole hype with them breaking out of Sona was not only anti-climactic, but it was sloppy and unbelievable.

Also count me as confused as to why Mahone (William Fichtner) now seemed to be sleeping with the enemy. Instead on sparking some interest in me, I had the opposite reaction that I just didn’t seem to care. It seems that this season they took what was an excellent character for the show and just destroyed whatever value he had. A shame, since William Fichtner did a fantastic job when Mahone was at the top of his game.

I said it before and I’ll say it again- can they get rid of Bellick (Wade Williams) once and for all? And he can take T-Bag (Robert Knepper) with him. It seems that both characters don’t add much to the story any more, except maybe to show how sick T-Bag is supposed to be. Yeah, we get it already.

It seems like when – or if – the show returns, that Linc (Dominic Purcell) and Michael (Wentworth Miller) may be going their separate ways. That could be the best thing, seeing that Linc really has nothing to run from anymore and he has his son back. There’s really no purpose for him any more.

This show used to be very intense and dark, with a lot of creative storytelling and suspenseful characters. Now, it’s just dark. Seeing Sucre (Amaury Nolasco) beaten to a pulp and then nearly buried alive served no purpose. T-Bag's murderous ways served no purpose. In fact, the whole storyline with the escape and Whistler didn’t seem to have much of a purpose either. There just didn't seem to be much of a story with Whistler, except for his mysterious bird book with code written inside. But the suspense with the supposed value of the book itself just fell flat.

Personally, I think this show was ruined the minute they killed Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies), eliminated Kellerman (Paul Adelstein), and walked into Sona. In a way, when the show walked into that prison, they trapped themselves, and the viewers, in a lackluster story line.

Now that they are out, I may be out too. This is one show that if it returns, I’m not sure if I will return with it.

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Fox’s 24 Shelved Until 2009

On February 3, I wrote here that Fox’s 24 was on life support. It looks like it will be that way for a lot longer.

The writer’s strike is being blamed for the long delay in starting the new season. According to CNN, “A January 2009 start seemed the best way to comply with viewers' wishes that a season's episodes run without interruption to conclusion, Fox said on Thursday.” OK, so now they are partly blaming it on the fans.

It’s not this viewer’s wishes to have the episodes run without interruption. Right now, I think to get something new, the fans would be happy to have an interruption in the series here and there if it’s really needed.

CNN also reported that eight episodes had already been filmed. I say release the 8 episodes while they work on the rest. The viewers would be happy to see Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) back in action again, even if it were just for a short while.

Is the real problem that they’re still stuck on the direction of the show? I would hope that with the time taken with the writer's strike, they’ve had a lot of time to think about it and they should be all that much closer to finalizing things. But for them, it’s probably easier to blame the viewers and their need to see all the episodes one after the other.

This may be curtains for 24, or it’s going to negatively affect viewership once it does come back, almost a year from now. And maybe by then something more interesting will be the new hot show.

I hope that Fox rethinks their position on this one, because I’m already rethinking if I want to bother with 24 next year.

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HGTV: Superficial Tips to Sell Your Home

HGTV runs a lot of shows that show their “experts” – real estate, home staging, etc.- helping people sell their homes. Two shows immediately come to mind: “Secrets that Sell” and “Get It Sold”. For the last several Sunday mornings – out of sheer boredom – I’ve watched these two shows.

I continue to be shocked at the asking prices for some of these homes. During one show, they showed a house that was going for over $700,000 and it was half the size of my house, and it had a postage stamp-sized yard. (No wonder the real estate market is in a state of collapse.) The premise of the show seems to be that the owners of the house paid an already inflated price for the house, now they want to move, and they’re shocked that the house isn’t selling. Of course, they’re asking even MORE for the house than what they bought it for, because they need to cover the price of the new home they want to buy.

The real estate people, or the staging person, come in and make obvious suggestions in order to improve the look of the house or to highlight what may be a sticking point in selling the house. Usually, it’s filled with suggestions to de-clutter or move furniture, maybe new drapes, etc. Rarely – and I mean rarely – do they ever suggest dropping the sale price.

What I find amusing about these shows is that they virtually never say if the person evenutally got the house sold, and/or if they got their asking price. I suspect they don’t cover this because they probably don’t want us to know that maybe their efforts didn’t make a difference?

Shows like this only contribute to the current problem in the housing market. People are deluded if they think that making a few superficial changes will help them get an ever increasing amount for the sale of their homes. Granted, simple cleaning up an de-cluttering will do wonders for a house that is going on the market. But I’ll be honest, if I were looking for a house right now, the last thing I would worry about is if the homeowner left pictures of their family out for me to see, or if they left a toaster AND a coffeemaker on their counter, or if the paint color in a room was wrong. The thing most important to me would be the sale price of the home relative to its size and condition, and usually the owner of the home has to make some concessions in that regard, especially in this market.

These shows need a dose of reality, and fast. Even though they seem to bill themselves as real situations with real people, they don’t give the owners the one single dose of reality that they need – that their price is too high. Of course, if they did that, they wouldn’t have a show.

So if your going to sell your home, don’t bother watching these shows. Save yourself the time. All you need to do is: de-clutter, de-personalize, paint neutral, make sure your bedrooms look like bedrooms, and make sure your kids are invisible. Now that was easy!


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Writers Strike Nearing the End: My Expectations

As reported by several news sources, the Writers Guild of America is close to a resolution of its three-month-old strike. Guild leaders are recommending the new contract to members, and requesting they approve it to the end the walkout.

OK, now that’s out of the way, here’s some of what I expect, and I think other viewers should expect, from the writers:

1. Start writing something better for LOST. Even though the writers weren’t on strike when they wrote the current episodes, it sure seems like they are making it up as they go along. Viewers deserve better.

2. Bring back the “old” feel to Law & Order SVU. I am not sure who put together this latest season – the decline may have actually started last season – but the characters don’t even seem like themselves anymore. And please give us scenarios that are believable and dialog that seems better than what a high school student could write.

3.Unless you want the whole genre of the soap opera to die, the soap writers need to pick up the pace and get creative. No, that doesn’t mean more mob-related stories on General Hospital or another personality disorder on One Life to Live, or another murder and trial on (fill in the blank for your soap of choice here). The soap writers have gotten lazy over the years, all the while the viewers’ expectations have raised. Know your audience and respond to them.

4. Get moving on 24. You've had plenty of time to be thinking about it. I’m getting concerned that it seems that with the latest reports, there doesn’t seem to be a good idea of where this season is headed and what kind of Jack Bauer we’re going to see. There will be no excuse for a lackluster story here.

5. I am not a big fan of awards shows, but the upcoming Oscars better be excellent, otherwise viewers won’t understand the value of the writers and why it was so important that the strike be resolved so the Oscars could go on.

6. Come up with shows that offer something different. We don't need cheesy rip-offs of other shows, like Lipstick Jungle or Cashmere Mafia is to Sex and the City.


In other words, earn your keep. There are tons of fan fiction and amateur writers out there could do a better job, and they are right behind you, on your heels.


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Law & Order: The Drama Is Back!

On January 3, I wrote in this blog that I was on the fence about Law & Order, after the show’s lackluster season premier.

This week, I’ve jumped off that fence and onto the side that is very happy with the last few episodes (Bottomless, Driven, Political Animal, Quit Claim).

Why the change of heart? The show finally got away from the personal baggage of Detective Cyrus Lupo (Jeremy Sisto), and also seemed to get back on formula. There’s nothing wrong with shaking things up a bit, but the first few episodes of the new series seemed to be too much of an earthquake.

In the last few episodes, we’ve seen Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) become very comfortable in his job. In fact, I think that they’ve set up the situations and dialog for McCoy so that it seems like he’s an improved version of his old self. EADA Cutter (Linus Roache) seems to have found his balance, and ADA Rubirosa (Alana De La Garza) seems to have softened her look but at the same time gotten more confidence and resolve. In fact, her character is probably the one where I am most happy with her transformation.

Lupo and Green (Jesse Martin) now seem like very comfortable partners, and Green seems much more “in charge” and in control, which is what I expect him to be as the more senior partner. Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson) has been given a little more screen time and involvement, and it has real purpose, it’s not just gratuitous appearances.

But even better are the story lines. Yes, we did have the huge red herring with “Political Animal” with the pseudo-Larry Craig scenario that we could have done without. But the subsequent story was compelling enough to make up for it. For the most part, the stories in the last few episodes have actually been interesting and felt new and different.

So I’m glad that the show is back, and I hope the trend continues, because sitting on the fence is not something that I like to do. Especially for my favorite show.

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House and Wilson: TV’s Latest Power Couple

There have been lots of “power couples” on TV over the years. Think of Superman and Lois Lane, Mickey and Minnie, Sonny and Cher, Mulder and Skully. Or, taking a different approach, look at Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, Batman and Robin, Gumby and Pokey, Lenny and Squiggy, Oscar and Felix, Rocky and Bullwinkle.


But now, a new power couple has emerged: Greg House (Hugh Laurie) and James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) from Fox’s show, House. These are two people made for each other. Both are doctors; House being a crackerjack diagnostician, and Wilson an Oncologist. Both work at the same facility, Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Both seem to have personal issues; House - the drug addicted misanthrope, and Wilson - the relationship-addicted divorced man. They feed on each other’s misery. Well, maybe it’s more like House force-feeding his misery to Wilson with Wilson regurgitating it back at him. Both are prone to an acerbic wit.

The relationship between these two people is probably the best quality and the most entertaining part of the show. Wilson frequently gets the best lines out of it, too, even if those lines are sometimes unspoken. For example, in the episode that aired February 3, “Frozen,” when House seems determined to follow Wilson out to lunch to see who Wilson is joining, Wilson stops walking, turns to House and, to answer House, says, “Ok, the reason I didn't tell you was...” and the proceeds to run as fast as he can away from House and out the door, knowing House could never keep up. House gives Wilson’s back that knowing look that only best buddies can give each other. Earlier in the show, there was this gem:

House: You're wearing a lavender shirt, so you're dressing for somebody.
Wilson: The Medical Board. They frown on shirtless Oncology.

One classic encounter with House and Wilson seems to sum up the relationship perfectly in this classic encounter from the episode “Daddy’s Boy”:

House: You bastard. You invited my parents to dinner.
Wilson: Geez, Cameron's got a big mouth.
House: Ha! Not as big as yours.
Wilson: Hey, you used me to avoid seeing your parents.
House: Well, what do you care?
Wilson: I don't. I just thought it might be interesting to find out why.
House: You could have just asked.
Wilson: You would have lied.
House: And you would have believed me. Which would have kept us both happy. Do you want your money back, is that what this is about?
Wilson: No! Wait, what? Have you got the money? [House starts to write check] If you have the money, then why did you need the loan?
House: I didn't. I just wanted to see if you'd give it to me. I've been borrowing increasing amounts ever since you lent me forty dollars a year ago. A little experiment to see where you'd draw the line.
Wilson: You're - you're trying to objectively measure how much I value our friendship?
House: That's five grand, you've got nothing to be ashamed of. So what do you say, one little phone call, one big check?
Wilson: Fine. [takes check] Thanks. [gets in car] Now, be a grownup and either tell mommy and daddy you don't want to see them or I'm picking you up at 7:00 for dinner.
House: What do you mean? You just said...
Wilson: I lied. I've been lying to you in increasing amounts ever since I told you you look good unshaved a year ago. It's a little experiment, you know, to see where you'd draw the line.


The relationship between these two didn’t start out as being a trade off of witty one-liners. Early on, their relationship seemed much more angst-filled, especially when House was deep into his drug addiction. Thankfully they have downplayed the addiction a bit, which allowed the relationship between House and Wilson to be less strained, even allowing their inner pranksters to come out.

The relationship between these two brings more realism to the show than the main story line, which is frequently filled with bizarre cases with equally bizarre treatments. Its as if the show needs the friendship between these two to keep the show grounded. What is interesting is sometimes the writers seem to copy the traits of previous TV power couples while creating the House/Wilson relationship. I think I’ve seen clear traits of Oscar and Felix plus Rocky and Bullwinkle, with a little Mulder and Skully thrown in there.

So I think it’s fitting to add House and Wilson to the long list of famous television power couples. I found a quote from House from an unnamed episode that I think sums up their relationship best, “So between us we can do anything. We can rule the world!”

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24 – On Life Support?

The Wall Street Journal has a front page article on this weekend’s paper which seems to spell gloom and doom for the show “24”. A big part of the problem was the show's liberal use of terrorism and torture in previous episodes of 24, specifically at the hands of Jack Bauer (Keifer Sutherland), and the public's distaste for torture being used in real life situations.

The Wall Street Journal said:

“But those who ride the tide of the times can also get upended by them. As public opinion about the Iraq War turned south, the show's depiction of torture came to be seen as glorifying the practice in the wake of real-world reports of waterboarding and other interrogation techniques used on detainees.

Ratings dropped by a third over the course of last year's sixth season. Producers would later experience trouble casting roles, once some of the most desirable in television, because the actors disapproved of the show's depiction of torture. "The fear and wish-fulfillment the show represented after 9/11 ended up boomeranging against us," says the show's head writer, Howard Gordon. "We were suddenly facing a blowback from current events."

Last spring, Fox executives asked producers to come up with a plan for what to do with their onetime crown jewel. The producers decided to take the radical -- and rarely attempted -- step of reinventing the show. While some fans complained "24" had grown too formulaic, the producers also grudgingly saw the importance of wrestling the show from its ties to an unpopular conflict.

The result: "24" is nowhere to be found on the TV schedule. For weeks the show's producers tried to reconcile the show's premise with the new public mood. Should Jack atone for his sins? Is Jack bad? The script rewrites and philosophical crises left the show so far behind schedule that when the Hollywood writers went on strike in November, Fox had no choice but to delay its premiere date. The show could premiere this summer, next fall or as late as January 2009.”

The Journal also reports various problems the writers experienced as they tried to deal with disassociating Jack from the heavy handed torture persona. At one point, they had Jack in Africa doing what amounts to penance work. About this, the Journal says,

“The writers decided to scrap the Counter Terrorist Unit, the government agency for which Jack worked for the first six seasons of the show. Instead Jack would go to Washington to address head-on the accusations that his tactics were out of line. He will make his case. He has nothing to apologize for.

"For five years, this was a wish fulfillment show," Mr. Gordon said. "At the beginning, when everybody's fear was more acute, people's tolerance for violence, their own rage, seemed to make Jack's tactics more acceptable. But in the wake of our own abuses in prosecuting this so-called War on Terror, we feel Jack is getting a bum rap. So instead of selling out the entire show and its history and its legacy and apologizing for it and ultimately invalidating it, we decided to defend it." ‘

The bottom line is that the show’s season premier date is questionable, with the Journal indicating it could me this summer, next fall, or January 2009. (Translation: No one has a clue.) In my opinion, this does not bode well for the show.

I have been a 24 watcher since day 1. I like the show, but I too have had issues with the overuse of torture and violence. Sometimes it seemed over the top, and done just for the shock value. I am hoping that Jack comes back in some sort of re-invented way, but I hope that they don’t make the show so tame that the excitement is gone. I am sure this is the issue with which the writers struggle. They are lucky they’ve had more than 24 hours to think about it. So have the fans.


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The Best Superbowl Commercial Ever

Count me as one person who really enjoys the Superbowl commercials more than I enjoy the Superbowl itself.

I don’t bother watching the pre-game show. The commercials just aren’t worth it. But 15 minutes before the start of the game, I won’t leave that television set during ANY commercial.

The football Superbowl has become the advertising Superbowl. Over the years, some of the most creative, imaginative, funny, and thought provoking commercials have appeared during this game. The best of the bunch was the commercial from Apple, for the Macintosh computer, that aired during the 1984 game. In fact, I’d go so far to say this was probably the best commercial ever made. When I first saw the commercial during that Superbowl, I was stunned after watching it, and it has remained very clear in my memory all these years. You also know a commercial is great when it is parodied in various ways for many years afterwards.

The last few years, the commercials haven’t been as great. Maybe it’s all the competition from all the creative videos coming from the Internet. Still, I have hope that there will be a few gems that will make sitting through the game worthwhile!

Anyway – enjoy what I think is the best commercial ever:





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Lost – It IS “The Beginning of the End”

On January 22, I wrote in this blog that I have lost interest in “Lost.” And after watching the season premier, I’m a little lost myself, and somewhat disappointed.

Maybe the show is too slow paced for me. It’s not like things aren’t happening, it’s just that they are not happening with the pace and intensity of the first season. It’s as if the show has become overly cerebral and complex.

I have to admit that the “flash forward” has more interest for me than the previous seasons’ flashbacks. My hope is that they don’t overuse this technique as they did with the flashbacks. If they start to flash sideways, we’re in trouble.

If I understand this episode correctly, 6 people got off the Island. We knew from the end of last season that Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Jack (Mathew Fox) had returned “home.” In this episode, we see Hurley (Jorge Garcia) in the “future” so we know he is another. I suspect the show is trying to build buzz about who make up the other three. I am not sure that it really matters to me. For some reason I have never been overly attached to any one character on Lost.
Hurley is back in the nut house. He's a little off his rocker due to something that happened on the Island that apparently Jack is concerned that he’ll tell about. The presumption may be it’s something that we haven’t seen happen yet, but so far so much has gone wrong on the Island it could be anything.

Jorge Garcia seemed to portray true grief at the loss of Charlie (Dominic Monaghan), but then also true fear at seeing Charlie reappear as if he was alive. I have to admit that Garcia did a great job in his role in this episode, maybe his best yet.

Other than that, I am not sure that this episode had any major revelations. Or at least nothing that grabbed me. For the most part, I felt they could have done a far better job with this season premier. Maybe I am more of an action-oriented person, or maybe that’s what this series started out to be before it entered the Island’s land of confusion. (Are the writers making things up as they go along?) I am more than willing to invest in a show and be mindful of information gleaned from tiny details, but this show actually seems too much like hard work to watch. And sometimes I just want to be interested and entertained, and not sucked down into a vortex of a multi-layered mystery.

The one thing this episode did not leave me with was a burning desire to learn more or solve the mystery more. I really want it to be over and get some closure.

As a side note, so much time seems to have passed that some of the characters look a little different. Maybe it’s just me, but I thought Matthew Fox looked much thinner. And nice to see that as a ghost, Charlie looked much healthier. I wonder how that works?

So for now I will stick with the show. Like the Island, clearly the show wants me back. I suspect I’m in it for the long haul. If anything, I haven’t “lost” my need to close the loop with this show. Hopefully the investment will pay off.

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Analog TV To Go Away – Don’t Panic!

On February 17, 2009, television signals will cease broadcasting in analog, and will be converted to digital. But don’t panic. You probably won’t need to go out and buy all new televisions.

I’ve heard too many people saying that they don’t exactly know what this change means for them. The bottom line is if you are getting your TV signal via cable or satellite, you’re covered. Cable and satellite companies will be converting the signal for you. But, if you receive analog television via an antenna, you’ll need to make changes if you want to continue watching television.

According to an article in today’s Wall Street Journal, “Despite the approaching transition to digital-only television, about 15.5 million U.S. households still relied on traditional over-the-air analog broadcasts as of January 2007, according to the FCC, although that number is expected to decrease somewhat this year as flat-screen TV sets lure consumers to upgrade.” That’s a lot of people using “rabbit ears.”

If people who are getting their TV via signals don’t act before February 2009, their favorite TV shows will fade to black.

What this means to you:


If you subscribe to cable or satellite services, you don't have to do anything. Your cable or satellite company will make the conversion for you.

If you get your signal via the airwaves or antenna, the DTV Transition web site says:

“TV sets that rely on "over the air" broadcasting with an antenna (set-top or rooftop) to receive a signal will be affected by the cutoff of analog broadcasts in 2009. You will need to consider one of the following options:

1. Purchase a digital-to-analog converter box that plugs into an existing television. The boxes, which are expected to cost between $50 - 70 will be available for purchase in 2008. Beginning on January 1, 2008, U.S. households can request up to two coupons valued at $40 each. Each coupon can go toward the purchase of a single set-top converter box that will allow you to continue watching FREE "over-the-air" television on an analog set.

2. Subscribe to a cable, satellite or telecommunications service provider if all desired local broadcast stations are carried by that service.

3. Purchase a new television set with a built in digital tuner.”


There is still plenty of time to prepare. Now really, do you need a better excuse to go out and buy a new television?

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The SAG Awards – I Didn’t Watch, I Don’t Care Who Won

On January 8, I wrote in this blog about the awards show being canceled for the Golden Globes. Generally, I have become apathetic towards celebrity awards shows. TNT touted that the SAG Awards were going forward despite the strike of the Writers Guild, as if that would make the show better and more watchable. But, I was not so desperate to watch something Sunday night that I watched the SAGs. (OK, I watched Shark. And James Woods is still missing his eyebrows.) I’m so disinterested in the SAG Awards that I haven’t even bothered to look to see who won.

I know that the Oscars still mean a lot to many people, but something tells me that even the casual viewers is getting more discerning in their viewing choices that sitting through a lengthy award show just doesn’t cut it any more. If the writer’s strike affects the airing of the Oscars, it won’t bother me.

So for someone like me who likes to watch TV – well, I really LOVE watching TV – even I draw the line sometimes. Not all TV is TV worth my time.

But we should all stay tuned to see if Shark gets disbarred. And if James Woods gets some eyebrows like the rest of his cast mates. The suspense is killing me.


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Without A Trace – of Excitement?

Photo: CBS

I’ve been watching Without A Trace since the show first started, and generally I find it entertaining. At the start of this current season, it was moved back to its original Thursday time slot. I don’t think it’s drawing the huge numbers of viewers that it used to get, but if I recall correctly, it wins the ratings contest for its time period.

While I continue to watch the show, there is something very routine about it. Without A Trace is a show that still has the original core cast, only adding Roslyn Sanchez sometime in season 4. The cast is solid and has great chemistry. Anthony LaPaglia is the gruff, stoic, cranky Jack Malone, a role that he seems to fit almost too easily. Then there’s Marianne Jean-Baptiste, playing the gruff, stoic, cranky Agent Vivian Johnson; she's sometimes the only person who actually seems to know what she’s doing in her job. The cast is filled out with eye candy Agents Danny Taylor (Enrique Murciano), Martin Fitzgerald (Eric Close), Samantha “Sam” Spade (Poppy Montgomery), and Elena Delgado (Roselyn Sanchez).

Without a Trace is probably the most formulaic crime show on television. In the first segment of the show, someone goes missing. The FBI gets involved, questioning many people (these segments must include flashbacks) who either lie or withhold information, and at the end, the missing person is found, sometime dead, sometimes alive. The routine gets a little dull. But, there have been times when the series threw in a few personal story lines to mix things up, like Jack’s relationship with his father Frank (played by Martin Landau), Jack’s messy divorce and child custody problem, Jack’s relationship with Anne Cassidy (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). Jack’s problems were very depressing and frankly they really dragged down the show. (Or, maybe it's just Jack who's depressing?)



Occasionally, the rest of the cast gets some attention with a story line of their own, which seemingly gets dropped quickly. The show seems to be stepping away from too many personal issues this season, and the series seems to be a little better for it with tighter stories. What is odd is that as this is such a great cast that have been with the show for so long, I think viewers really want to know the characters a little better. But, like the Law & Order series, too much personal information can start to detract from the story at hand, which is maybe why it doesn’t seem to work for Without a Trace.

While I really do like this show, I believe that it needs an infusion of some new energy or new slant to their formula to bring some excitement. I am not sure if they need a new regular cast member, or a compelling, recurring story line. Agent Johnson is involved in a on-going story line, but the coverage of the story seems fragmented or spotty, and I am starting to lose interest. The show needs something; I feel like I am watching the cast go through the motions.

With the writers strike having so many TV shows up in the air, I would hope that when they return to work, they would write some new ideas to give a jolt to Without a Trace. I don’t want to start thinking of the show as “Without A Trace of Excitement.”


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I’ve Lost Interest in Lost

I’ve been hearing the occasional commercial about “Lost” returning on January 31 in a two-hour premier.

And I really don’t care about it.

There are a few reasons for my lack of interest. The last season didn’t seem to be as intense as the first, and the suspense was missing. They introduced many new characters and the “Others”, which only seemed to make the show centered more on people than on the mystique of the island itself. And then, there were the frequent flashbacks, which became tiring after a while. I think the flashbacks are what I first liked about the show, but I soured on them later as the show seemed to spend more and more time flashing back than with the present story. It’s nice to have a bit of a back story on the characters, but too much back story can set the story back.

There also seems to be very little buzz going on about the show. It seemed that between previous seasons, the hype continued so one couldn’t wait for it to start up again. But, with the end of this last season there was…nothing. Maybe it’s not out there, maybe I just didn’t have any interest in going to look for it. But when the buzz dies, that’s when I can tell that a show is near the end.

And speaking of the end, how disappointing was the end of the last season? Somehow, I felt like I had just been robbed. The season had virtually no answers and the story seemed to stall, but the ending seemed to shift the story a little too far forward for me. Was it supposed to be a flash-forward? If so, I think I am getting really confused with all this time shifting.

I’m also not sure what happened with the dynamics between the characters, but something was missing last season. It got to the point where I didn't care about what happened to anybody on the island. Hopefully this season they will cut lose some of the “dead wood” and get back to the core characters and the core story…whatever the core story is supposed to be!

I’m not sure if it’s going to be worth my time to watch Lost when it premiers. But, I will probably succumb when I realize that there may not be much else on TV at that time. If I do watch the premier, and if it doesn’t move the story forward in an interesting or suspenseful way, then the show will LOSE me as a viewer.



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Rediscover PBS

With the winter holidays and the writer’s strike, new episodes for TV shows will soon disappear. This is a perfect time to rediscover your local PBS station.

Since our local PBS station went HD last summer, I’ve been watching more of the old standbys that used to be regular viewing for me – Nova, Nature, American Experience, etc. There are some excellent programs there, and they all educate AND entertain at the same time.

For example, the were two episodes of Nova called “Absolute Zero” that chronicled the understanding of cold, and the work of scientists, researchers, and inventors, going back centuries. It was amazing to see the things that scientists have done – and CAN do – to “create” cold. It may sound like a dull show, but I found it riveting. I will never take cold for granted again.

I also watched “American Experience,” an episode named “Oswald’s Ghost.” It was probably the most interesting piece I’ve ever seen - and I’ve seen a lot – on the Kennedy assassination and the conspiracies that swirl around it. What I found particularly interesting was its treatment of Jim Garrison, a New Orleans District Attorney, who was zealous in his pursuit of conspirators. After seeing Oliver Stone’s movie on the subject many years back, it only confirmed for my that Stone’s portrayal of Garrison was skewed and not realistic.

But this is what I love about PBS. It takes many subjects, and goes to many places, and highlights them in a way that allows you to come away wanting more. It educates, but it also feeds curiosity. Sometimes it can astound, with its tales of discovery and it’s treatment of nature. Of course, there is something for everybody, including kids, cooks, artists, etc.

If you’re finding yourself bored with television lately, and if you haven’t watched PBS in a while, give it a try. Your brain will thank you.


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Fox's 24 - Getting 86'd For Now?

TV Guide's Michael Ausiello raises some concerns, issues, and questions in today's TV Guide on line about the fate of Fox's 24 and its man of the day, Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland):

"Well, although Fox hasn't confirmed it, I'll go out on a limb and say Jack Bauer isn't returning this season. Even if the strike ends tomorrow, the earliest the show could get back on the air is this summer — and there's no way in hell Fox is dumping 24 onto the summer season. That leaves the network with several options, none of them ideal. One solution is to just kick off Season 7 next January, but by then Jack will have been in hiding for nearly two years. Another, and much more controversial, scenario being bandied about involves taking the eight episodes currently in the can and creating a 10- to 14-episode mini-season to air in the fall. That would be followed by another 10- to 14-episode mini-season — featuring a completely different plot — during the second half of the season. Opponents of that idea have argued, and rightly so, that by splitting the season, you're essentially compromising the show's unique, 24-hour conceit. Proponents, however, argue that these are desperate times. And sometimes desperate times require throwing out the rulebook. I can see that point as well. What do you guys think? Would you rather wait until January and get a traditional uninterrupted 24-episode season? Or would you prefer getting the show back in the fall, even if that meant splitting the season up into two shorter, self-contained chunks? Or do you have another solution? Weigh in with your thoughts in the Ask Ausiello Discussion Thread. I have a feeling Fox will be interested in what you have to say. "

Lots of questions, no answers. I bet Jack Bauer would be able to solve the writer's strike in less than a day, given enough weapons.

24 is one of my favorite shows, despite the fact that sometimes things occur that strain credulity. Still, there is nothing quite like Jack Bauer going all out to solve even the smallest of problems, with weapons of course. OK, sometimes he uses electrical cords, but I digress. One of the hardest things to find credible with 24 is that everything is supposed to occur within a span of 24 hours. Sometimes Jack is able to drive around Los Angeles and get places in times that even Superman would find hard to achieve. Maybe the concept of keeping with this "real time" theme isn't necessary any more. My opinion is the show may benefit in the credibility category if it stepped back from that time constriction.

I guess I'll take 24 hours to think about it before I write to Fox.



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Prison Break: The Viewers Get “Boxed In”

Count me as one person who was very disappointed in the return of Prison Break. The episode, “Boxed In” (aired Monday January 14 on Fox) made it seem that it was the viewer that got trapped in one of Dante’s Circles of Hell. It seemed no progress was made in this episode.

I was getting confused at what some of the characters were doing or what part they played in the ongoing story. Besides the fact that Mahone (William Fichtner) was going through drug withdrawal, I completely lost what his returning to prison meant for the rest of the group. I also didn’t get the purpose of the use of the saran wrap over Susan B’s (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) face during the water torture scene. If the saran wrap was already suffocating her, what was the purpose of the water? And unless they can tie in Bellick’s (Wade Williams) problems with the main story, let’s just get rid of the character and move on. His story line seems to be wasting time.

The scenes with both Linc (Dominic Purcell) and Michael (Wentworth Miller) were so dull and uninteresting that I found myself picking apart their looks. For example, have you noticed that with Purcell’s boxy, huge head, and his thick neck with his small shoulders, he looks like one of those old “rock’m sock’m robots"?

Most importantly, after watching this episode, I really could care less if these guys ever get out of prison or if Linc’s son is saved.

Prison Break needs to move the story out of this prison, and get back somehow to a telling a story in a way that viewers can even care about what happens to the bad guys. Here’s one viewer who is ready for a break out from watching this show.


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Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and The Return of Prison Break

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles premiered on Fox Sunday night (January 13) at 8:00 PM ET, with the second episode due to air on Monday, January 14, 2008 (at its normal time of 9:00 PM ET).

I watched the show out of sheer boredom, since not much else was on. I generally liked the Terminator movies. I saw Terminators 1 & 2, but I can’t recall ever seeing the third installment. Since Fox’s TV show is set between the movie installments 2 & 3, I don’t have any problems with how the story has progressed.

The TV show seems to be very action packed, like the movies, and follows a very similar theme: Sarah Connor (Lena Headey) and her son John (Thomas Dekker) on the run from cyborg terminators from the future, who are trying to kill John because he saves the world from Skynet, a computerized intelligence. While a cyborg continues to hunt them down, another cyborg (Summer Glau), also sent from the future, is there to protect them.

The action in the show makes it interesting. The fact that they will try to locate and destroy Skynet is interesting. The problem with the show may be the repetitive “run from the cyborg” scenarios. While this is the whole excuse for the action in the show, it will lose its excitement and intensity if it happens the same way, week after week. Hopefully they will find a creative way to keep the hunt going without too many scenes of cyborg battles.

I plan on watching tonight, and unless it gets really awful – I don’t expect it to – I think this show will be a nice placeholder for the show 24, which is stalled due to the writers’ strike.

Prison Break fans will also be happy that the show returns tonight at 8:00 PM ET, immediately before the Terminator series. This is a series that I initially never thought would get past the first few episodes, but it continued to deliver exciting – yet sometimes gruesome – shows in the first two seasons. This year, however, they seem stalled in prison in Panama, with uninteresting characters and uninteresting scenarios. Hopefully they will pick up the pace and get out of that place, and deliver a story that is more on par with the complexity of previous seasons.



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Criminal Intent: The Pick of the Law & Order Litter?

I’ve been a faithful Law & Order Criminal Intent watcher since day one. I’ve always liked the show, despite some bad times. Remember when Goren (Vincent’D’Onofrio) was partnered with Detective Bishop (Samantha Buck)? OK, I think many of us just want to have those episodes permanently wiped from our memories.

Criminal Intent has always been the cerebral Law & Order. D’Onofrio is the perfect fit to play Goren, since D’Onofrio does quirky and mentally unbalanced better than anybody else. Even with the changes a few years back with adding another pair of detectives – Mike Logan (Chris Noth) and his partner du jour – the show has continued to deliver interesting stories. In fact, I think adding Chris Noth to the cast has recharged the show. In all honesty, I was getting a little tired of Goren. It seemed as they continued to focus more on Goren’s personal issues, I became less interested in him. I prefer a little more mystery with my Law & Order characters. Now that he’s not on every week I like the show more.

I admit I was initially disappointed when they moved the show to USA, partly because I don’t get USA in HD, and partly because I thought USA would let the quality of the show slide. I continued to watch it, though, and am happy that it seems to have found life on USA, and the quality and the feel of the show has actually improved. With NBC now re-airing those first-run USA episodes, I’m going to watch them again.

After watching the first three episodes of this season’s Law & Order, I’m not happy with what I’ve seen. It’s one thing to introduce new characters, but at the same time the show seems different in subtle things like its camera work, weak dialog, flimsy stories, and we’re getting too much personal information on the characters. And the drama is absent. I’m also very disappointed in SVU because the whole chemistry of the cast is off and the story lines are flat. And then there’s Adam Beach (I shuddered as I wrote that).

Criminal Intent may actually be the best show of the franchise right now, with interesting actors and interesting plots, and overall good cast chemistry.

I do have some hang-ups with Criminal Intent. For starters: that horrid introduction music, which I think was taken directly from the failed Law & Order Trial By Jury. It just doesn’t fit the feel of Criminal Intent. And I still miss Captain Deakins (Jamey Sheridan). I can’t warm up to Captain Ross (Eric Bogosian), who seems a little too wooden for my tastes. And I also hope that Alicia Witt is a short-timer because she’s just plain annoying. But I can look past those things, as long as the stories, and the rest of the cast continues to deliver.

So if you haven’t checked out Law & Order Criminal Intent since it moved to USA, give it a try now that it’s re-airing on NBC Wednesdays at 9:00 ET. It would be criminal to miss it.


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Cold Case: Still Leaves Me Cold

I started watching Cold Case (CBS) when it first premiered in 2003. The show seemed different and interesting. But, over time, the formula of the show became too repetitive, the story lines sappy and syrupy, the flashbacks too repetitive. I also felt like I was watching a crime show merged into a music video montage, and the music was distracting. Last season, I got tired of the show and for the most part, stopped watching it, unless I was desperate. In fact, I stopped watching the last 5 minutes or so of the show earlier than that. The “perp walk set to music” was just too much to tolerate week after week.

Desperation kicked in again this past Sunday, so I thought I’d give Cold Case another try. The episode was called “Sabotage”, about a serial bomber that spanned a few years. The good thing about the show is that they seemed to get rid of, for the most part, the flashing back and forth between the current character and the character’s “younger” self. Since this is the first episode I’ve seen this season, I don’t know if this was a recent change to format, or just for this episode. But it did make the show flow much better.

Also minimized was the music accompaniment, with the exception of the ending of the show…that I still skipped over.

The story, however, still seemed flat. And I have to say that the chemistry between the detectives was absent. I’m not quite sure that the characters ever really had much chemistry to begin with, but with this series being on as long as it has, I think viewers should expect more. Lilly Rush (Kathryn Morris) is still a blank slate.

And the crimes and the investigations themselves really have little depth to them. There isn’t much suspense or much to draw one into the story. I find I feel nothing for the characters, either those involved in the crimes, or those working to solve the crimes.

Overall, my response to this show remains chilly. It may be one of the most superficial crime shows on television right now – and goes back on my “view when only desperate” list.

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The Writers Strike Has Benefits – the Golden Globes Get Canceled

There is ONE big benefit to the writer’s strike. It’s gotten the Golden Globes awards show canceled. Instead, a news conference will be held to announce the winners. Can we only hope that the Academy Awards will soon follow?

Personally, I’ve always found awards shows boring. The entertainment industry’s compulsion to pat itself on the back - at the same time marketing its movies, TV shows, and music – always seemed so self serving. And really, who cares about what designer a celebrity is wearing, or who wore the worst dress, etc. It’s all so…so…vulgar.

Don’t get me wrong, I like when my favorite actors or shows get awards. It’s almost a validation of why I watch them. But, watching a three to four hour show filled with boring monologues and tributes can put one into a coma. I will occasionally start to watch The Academy Awards and the Emmys during the first half hour of the show, but after that, forget it. I usually change the channel and only turn it back on during a commercial while watching the other show. If I recall correctly, last year I DVR’d the Oscars and reduced the entire show down to about a half hour’s worth of my viewing time. It’s so nice to skip those boring speeches from people I either don’t know or could care less about. And let's not forget those obscure categories, like "best sound editing for an animated, black and white documentary." People aren't that interested. (Admit it, you change the channels during those segments.)

So as far as I’m concerned, the Golden Globes can go away and never come back. And maybe this will be a contagious virus that hits the other awards shows, and makes them extinct? One can dream...


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Are The Soaps Losing Their Lather?

I’ve been an off and on soap-watcher since the late 1960s. My seventh grade teacher, who was lucky enough to have control of the only TV in school – used to turn on General Hospital while we waited for the school buses to arrive. So I got hooked on Doctor and Audrey Hardy, and Jesse Brewer and their complicated lives at a very young age. When summer vacation began that year, I kept watching GH when I could. Somewhere near that time when One Life to Live premiered, I started watching that too, much to my mother’s dismay.

After getting out of high school and starting a job the very next week, it was many years before I could go back to watching the soaps. I think when VCRs came out, and it made it so easy to catch up, I discovered the soaps again. Of course, I also got my husband hooked. We would share in the humor of bad acting and horrible, unbelievable story lines. But, we still tried to catch them for a few minutes each day, even if it meant fast forwarding through 75% of the show.

Over the last several years, though, the quality of the soaps has gone from bad to worse. It was bad enough that years ago, many soaps changed from 30 minute shows to one hour shows. All that meant was stretching and elongating bad stories. But now, the story lines are sometimes stretched out over months, with even more amateurish acting and uninteresting characters.

Case in point: General Hospital. Or shall I call it “Criminals in Port Charles.” The show centers far too much on the criminal element, AKA Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard), the wooden Jason Morgan (Steve Burton), Sonny’s annoying ex-wife Carly (currently played by Laura Wright ), their bratty children, and various associates. Then of course, Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) disappears for months on end, and then forces himself on the viewers in heavy doses, in vacant story lines, when he graces everyone with his return. In the past year or so, GH seemed to try to actually center some stories around hospital people and events, but again, the stories and the characters were unappealing.

Another case in point: One Life to Live. Once the most interesting of the bunch, it now seemingly has nothing really interesting going on, or a story gets dragged on to the point of boredom. Right now, I think Marcie (Kathy Brier) is trying to keep Tommy, her adopted son, away from Todd, his biological father. The story brought her to Paris Texas, also strangely the same place where Vicki Lord Reilly Buchanan Davidson (Erika Slezak) is living out a secret life as a waitress. OK, I feel for Erika. She’s had the best stories of OLTL all her career, but since they now gave the role of designated “Dissociative Identity Disorder” to her on-screen daughter Jessica (who I refer to as “Messica” because her life was a mess), there may not be much more Erika can do that’s a challenge. But this story line seems to be going on FOREVER, with no real movement. Add in a few characters who really can’t act, examples: Melissa Archer, who plays the wardrobe-challenged Natalie, and Michael Easton (John McBain), who only has one dead-pan look on his face and always appears in need of a shower. What you end up with is 60 minutes of fighting off an afternoon nap.

At face value, it doesn’t seem like the soaps are that bad. But when one considers that the soaps used to be the one place for controversial stories on television, or for stories that you wanted to talk about with others, it’s clear how they have fallen. There are frequent reports on how the soaps have continued to lose viewership year after year. Part of it is probably due to the volume of choices a viewer has, but a big part is that the soaps are no longer the place to see a story that pulls you in and makes you interested in the characters, the stories, the issues, and the actors themselves. I find I don’t watch the soaps much any more, usually only checking out the first 5 minutes to see if the story will grab me. Most days, they don’t.

Recent events with the writers strike have raised questions that if the soaps go off the air for a while due to lack of writers, they may never come back. And you know what? Here’s one person that won’t miss them.

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The Best Writers are Invisible

With the recent strike of the Writers Guild of America, and the season premier of Law & Order, it got me thinking. It made me wonder what makes a writer a great writer. I think the secret is that the writing itself is invisible. When you’re watching a drama, or comedy, or even a movie, a great writer makes you believe that you are like a fly on the wall, watching the events unfold. The dialog sounds normal, real, and the actors in the roles seem to meld right into the character.

Why did the Law & Order 2 hour premier (“Called Home/Darkness”) bring me this revelation? I think it’s because the dialog seems so – scripted – for lack of a better word. It is almost like I can see the writer sitting in front of the computer, thinking, “yes, we need a great comeback line here” or “we needed some dry humor there.”

Looking back on some of the older Law & Order episodes – for all the franchise shows including SVU and Criminal Intent - the show seemed like real people in real situations. The best example is Lennie Briscoe, played by the late Jerry Orbach. The writing fit the character and the situations so well that it was as if Jerry WAS Lennie Briscoe, and those witty comebacks really came right out of Jerry’s head on instinct.

After musing over my disappointment with the premier, I came to the realization that the dialog seemed very plain and vanilla to me. It was as if an amateur had written it. I wasn’t seeing the characters; I was seeing the actors playing the characters. It seemed like some of the actors were reading off cue cards, and not having the words come from their “gut”. I’ve noticed the same problem with Law & Order SVU this past season, where it seems that Benson and Stabler seem to be too predictable in what they’re going to say or do next. Criminal Intent has always had a bit of a problem in the same category, but I blame the sometimes – well, make that frequent – over the top acting by Vincent D’Onofrio. But even the writing for Criminal Intent seems to have much more depth and realism to it.

Watching some of the older episodes of Law & Order during the New Year’s TNT Marathon (they even included some old Ben Stone episodes to my delight), I realized that the stories were simple, the writing was crisp, and it seemed like I was pulled into the Law & Order universe, not that I was watching a TV show.

Don’t get me wrong; I still plan on watching Law & Order until Law & Order doesn’t run on TV any more. But I can’t help wishing for the days where I was a fly on the wall in the Law & Order universe. Maybe when the writers resolve their strike, we’ll see some invigorated dialog, and they'll be invisible again.

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Law & Order Season Premier: The Jury is Still Out

The new season of Law & Order premiered last night. I’m on the fence about it. The series is one of the constants in the universe, keeping the world of crime on an even keel. But, I sensed a quake in the Law & Order “continuum” last night.

Maybe my expectations were too high, but both episodes left me wanting. Wanting what, you ask? More drama. More credible story lines. A better partner for Ed Green (Jesse Martin). Better dialog.

The two hour premier contained two separate stories (Called Home/Darkness), which was fine with me because the first episode was rather lifeless and more than an hour would have put me to sleep. Cyrus Lupo (Jeremy Sisto) enters the show due to the assisted suicide of his brother, a L&O storyline that has been used across the franchise more than once. We get a heavy dose – too heavy – of his family. Law & Order has always been good about only releasing snippets of personal information, and that’s one thing that always appealed to me. More is not always better, so Lupo’s family is one thing I hope disappears in future episodes. I was concerned – make that scared - when the family appeared front and center in the beginning second episode with a reference that his brother's wife was interviewing for a job at the precinct. That does not bode well for their disappearance.

Jeremy Sisto seems to be afflicted with mumbling syndrome. I had to keep turning up the volume to hear him – and my hearing is great. His acting was lifeless and frankly, I felt no connection or concern for his character.

Michael Cutter (Linus Roache), on the other hand, seems to be a better fit. They made a little too obvious references, though, to the age difference between Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) and Cutter, with the ubiquitous Blackberry for Cutter (McCoy called it a gadget), and references to McCoy’s antique typewriter. OK writers, we get it. McCoy = old, Cutter = new. We are not that stupid and don’t need to be hit over the head with it. I also wish that I hadn’t been told prior to the premier that Linus Roache is faking his accent, because I find it annoying. I would have found it less so had it really been his own. But, despite the fact that Cutter is acting like a “Padawan”, making newbie mistakes, and McCoy is the old and wise “Jedi Master”, the chemistry seems good. It’s also good too see that they have given Connie Rubirosa (Alana De La Garza) a modern – make that human – look. I swear last season she looked more fit to be on a science fiction show playing an alien. Her performance also seems energized. Bottom line is things look good in the DA’s office. As long as Sam Waterston sticks with the show, so will I. He’s the one person who seems to bring realism, and life, to his role, and serves as the “duct tape” holding the show together.

At the 2-7 though, things seem off. Ed seems to have lost all knowledge of what he learned from Lennie Briscoe. If Lennie had been in the second episode, he would have found an excuse to get into that building without having to call for a warrant, like saying he heard a scream. It’s a shame that after all these years, Ed “Sit yo’ ass down!” Green still seems to be a bit of a blank slate. It’s a shame, because Jesse Martin could handle the role of Ed in a edgier fashion. And if Cyrus Lupo continues to mumble and brood, I sense that poor Ed will just wither away. I hope that in the coming weeks, Sisto brings something to the table and they will give Ed some better scenarios.

Let’s not forget the story lines. As mentioned earlier, the assisted suicide story seems to be overdone with the franchise. The second story line seemed to lack believability. I was so glad when McCoy stated “The vice president of a power company involved in a kidnapping? C’mon!” It was exactly what I was thinking. I don’t understand why writers must make the rationale for some crimes so complex. I also was amused at how the court seemed to be in complete disarray from a power outage. I would like to think that the New York City would be able to handle things just a little better. And what exactly was the value of the scene in the street during the power outage when that woman came on to Lupo? It added no value to the story.

So while I’m not thrilled with how the season has started, I’ll hold my verdict for a little while longer. But like any jury, I won’t hold out forever.

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