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.

Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

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.

Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

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….


Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

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!


Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

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.


Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

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



Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

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

Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

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.

Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

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.


Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

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.


Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

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



Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

Prison Break – Dr. Sara Tancredi Returns

Michael Ausiello of TV Guide says that Prison Break fans should be prepared for a shocker: the return of Sara Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies), head intact. I just KNEW that wasn’t her head in that box! Here’s the scoop from TV Guide:

Prison Break Stunner: Sarah Wayne Callies Returns!

Prison Break fans, prepare to seriously lose your heads.

Sarah Wayne Callies — whose rather ugly contract dispute with producers led to her apparent decapitation last October — is returning next season. Full-time. As Dr. Sara Tancredi. Head and all. Seriously.

How? Why? When? WTF?! All legitimate questions. Good thing I just hung up with Mr. Answer Man (aka executive producer Matt Olmstead).

So... I take it that wasn't Sara's head in that box....
Matt Olmstead: Yeah, that wasn't.

But initially it was supposed to be her head. What changed?
Olmstead: What changed was.... once we realized that the emotional hook of Season 3 was going to be the death of Sara, when we didn't get the actress to do it, as soon as we wrote it and shot it, we realized that there was actually a way she could still be alive. Lincoln glanced at the head in the box for a split second. That could've been anyone. He wasn't about to pull it up from the hair and inspect it closely. And then we were fairly careful thereafter of references we made to that and who took credit for it and what was seen or heard, and we left it fairly [vague]. But initially when we realized that we never actually saw the character get killed, we just had that knowledge in our back pocket and moved forward with the narrative as we intended. Which was: she's out of the picture, Michael's [feeling guilty] and Lincoln is freaking out because if they did that to her, they could do that to his son. It really gave us a real push for the season.

Don't you think that was a little unfair to the audience — particularly fans of Dr. Sara — to jerk them around like this? They had every reason to believe she was dead.
Olmstead: I don't think it was unfair, because it gave us some real juice storytelling-wise — it put teeth in the antagonists. Obviously they were now capable of killing somebody. It also gave us a couple of episodes where Lincoln withheld the information from Michael, and that gave us conflict with the brothers. But also, what were we really going to do? Were we going to see Sarah Wayne Callies tied to a chair for 13 episodes? And then if she broke free, what is she really doing? It was almost a disservice to that character to keep her around last season. Certainly, we could have put her on a cruise ship and she's off sailing away. But we felt that if we're going to lose that character, why not get the most drama out of it? We didn't look at it in terms of [us] trying to tell the audience to go, you know, do something to themselves.

What role did the fan response to Dr. Sara's death play in her return?
Olmstead: It factored in. It was kind of a confluence of events. We saw on the message boards that a lot of fans were wondering if she really was dead. And then that led to conversations of, "Well, what if she isn't?" But then we put that on the back burner and moved forward with what we had to do, because it wasn't anything that could be dealt with right then. And then when we came back after the strike and we realized that we were not going to finish Season 3... we creatively decided to blow it all out, jump forward in the timeline and get a fresh start. And so, when we pitched that, a lot of those elements remained, but we were still looking for that emotional core for Michael. We were kind of exactly where we were in the beginning of Season 3, which led to her demise, quote unquote. So we went back and revisited [the idea of bringing her back to life]. And once we started talking about it, it was mentioned again that fans are still wondering about her. And when people who are fans of the show — and of Sarah — are asking, "Is she really dead?", what they're saying, essentially, is, "I hope she's not dead." And then it became a kind of groundswell.

But then you have to get the actress to agree to return, which I assume was no easy task given the bad blood that seemed to exist last season.
Olmstead: There wasn't bad blood on our side. It was a business decision. I understood where she was coming from in that she was given a provisional assurance that she was going to be a part of Season 3, but we had to revisit Season 3 a couple of times in the pitch stage in order to get it picked up. Fox was still looking for that emotional hook. Once we came up with the idea of her character going away, that gave us what we needed to push things over the edge. And although we were comfortable with it, she wasn't. I also understand on a personal level how it factored in. She was pregnant at the time and looking forward to giving birth, and this wasn't something she was interested in doing.

What changed for her that she's willing to come back now?
Olmstead: She and I spoke a couple of days ago at length about what we have come up with creatively for her character.... We're jumping ahead a little bit in the timeline. There's a little bit of a mystery period for all of these characters in terms of how they got where they are and what happened to them. And we have some interesting things for her, and she responded to them creatively. We won't just be picking up where we left off with her character. And she won't be a damsel in distress waiting for her hero to return. There are some complicating factors involved with her character and things that she's looking forward to. So we spoke about it, she thought about it, and we made a deal.

No hard feelings, then? Everyone's moving on?
Olmstead: Moving on. She's a very smart lady, and we're all adults here. It was never personal. It was a business and creative decision, and we're absolutely moving on.

Can you say how she'll be reintroduced next season?
Olmstead: It's going to be about figuring out what happened to her during that mystery period [between the end of Season 3 and the start of Season 4], and how she and Michael deal with it.

How much time will have lapsed?
Olmstead: About a month. Enough to jump past expected events that we left hanging at the end of Season 3, answering those things, but also moving forward.

And Sarah is onboard for the entire season?
Olmstead: Yes.”


Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

CSI-Miami’s David Caruso Speaks About The State of Serialized TV

The Daily Yomiuri, from Osaka, Japan, has an article about David Caruso (CSI-Miami) and his comments about the show, and the demise of serialized TV. One scary comment he made was that the show “Baywatch” was “pretty good.” Maybe he was watching the show with rose-colored sunglasses?


Caruso sees demise of serialized TV

Cristoph Mark / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer

"I think there's a general move away from [serialization]," David Caruso, star of the massively popular TV series CSI: Miami, tells The Daily Yomiuri during a trip to Japan to promote the DVD release of his show's third and fourth seasons.

The insight in many ways defies commonly held beliefs--shows such as Heroes, Lost, 24 and Battlestar Galactica have found large and loyal audiences around the world despite plotlines that must be closely followed. The change, from Caruso's standpoint, has come about because of syndication.

"The people I talk to on a regular basis watch the CSI: Miami marathons and so on, and [the episodes are] all mixed together," he says. "And people are watching CSI: Miami in a somewhat general way, meaning they're watching episodes from a mix of seasons. It's really changed as a format and heading in the direction in which everything [else] is going, which is more of an on-demand thing. What's significant about that change is that the network airing is not the cornerstone of the relationship anymore.

"I'm sure CBS will be happy to hear that," he says with a laugh, referring to the network channel that premiers new episodes.

Caruso got his start on U.S. television in 1981 on a poorly rated made-for-TV movie called Crazy Times. Soon after, however--and following one of his more successful forays into film, which included minor roles in An Officer and a Gentleman and First Blood--he made his debut in a police drama, the ever-popular CHiPs. Something seems to have caught his interest at this point, because he later appeared in a number of police dramas, including T.J. Hooker, Hill Street Blues, Crime Story and NYPD Blue, which he notoriously quit just before the show hit big in order to pursue what he thought would be a lucrative film career.

Though that success never materialized, his move back to television in the form of Horatio Caine on the CSI franchise has placed him square in the limelight. So much so, in fact, on a February 2007 episode of The Late Show with David Letterman, comedian Jim Carrey poked fun at Caine's habit of dramatically putting on his sunglasses mid-one-liner.

"I think that what happens to you is that once it [your character] becomes part of the culture, there's the discovery part and then there's the part where they have to have fun with it," Caruso ponders. "And that's cool. And that's also part of its arrival. When Jim Carrey did the impression of the character on David Letterman, he had fun with it. But there's also the part where it's a real affirmation going on there. And that's Jim Carrey doing an impression--regardless of what he does, that's not a bad thing. If he's going to take two minutes on Letterman to do Horatio Caine, that means that the character's arrived."

He and the show have not only arrived in the United States, but in Japan and much of the rest of the world. "CSI: Miami is the No. 1 show in the world, and it has understood embracing that," he says.

Here in Japan, it has run daily on TV Tokyo affiliates (currently, the channel is showing CSI: NY) and on the satellite channel AXN, where it is broadcast several times a week. And this month marks the DVD release of the series' fourth season.

In Europe, according to an October 2005 article on Variety.com, "That popularity may have something to do with the Baywatch and Miami Vice effect in that Euro audiences tend to have a predilection for watching beautiful (American) people--especially when the characters hang out near beaches."

"I don't know," Caruso says in response to a comparison between his show and the classic David Hasselhoff series that featured well-endowed women running down the beach in slow motion. "Baywatch is pretty good."

"Well, we have some pretty attractive people on our show, so I think that we're covered where that component is concerned. But at the end of the day, it's a law enforcement show, it's in a tropical setting, but there are some impactful things that take place."


Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

Battlestar Galactica Returns April 4

Image from Sci-Fi

Science fiction fans probably already have their calendars marked for April 4, 2008, which is the date for the return of the reportedly final season of Battlestar Galactica.

I’m happy about both – the return AND the final season.

Why? Well, I have somewhat of a love/hate relationship with this show. I really enjoyed that they took a campy, cheesy late 1970s science fiction TV show and turned it into something much deeper and much more intense. The current version is somehow darker and more desperate. Unfortunately, that’s also the part of the show I have grown to dislike. It seems to wallow in its own darkness, with story lines that sometimes drag so deep into despair that it ceases to become even remotely entertaining on any level.

There were some episodes in the last seasons where the storylines wasted too much time on individual characters. It seems that they sacrificed the story of their desire to get to earth by dwelling too much on the crew’s inner turmoil. I don’t mind shows that make you think or reflect, but I don’t like shows where the angst is so oppressive that you feel like you’re being slowly strangled while watching.

The low point of the series, I thought, was “Fat Apollo” – which is how Jamie Bamber refers to himself in the role. Of course, the normal svelte Bamber was wearing what they call a “fat suit,” but that still didn’t make it any better. Maybe because it seemed obvious it was a fat suit? Yes I understand the whole purpose of the storyline, which seemed to indicate Apollo had given up in more ways than one. Still, I thought it was a storyline that could have been best avoided.

It also seems like that the show became overly cerebral and almost devoid of action. The series initially appealed to me because of its action and clearly improved special effects from the 1970’s version, but then the series just seemed to slide helplessly into a mass of darkness and confusion.
So I will be watching when the season premiers on April 4, but not really because I want to. I feel like I have to. I’m hoping this final season will bring some closure to a series that started off so well.

By the way, the April 4 epsiode summary is below, along with a promo and interview:

He That Believeth in Me
Season 4 picks up where the third-season finale left off, with Starbuck's mysterious return unhinging the Galactica crew in the middle of a Cylon attack. Meanwhile, Anders enters the space melee and has a surprising standoff with a Cylon raider.



Short Promo Preview



Preview and Interviews (From Hypaspace)




Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

CSI-Miami Returns With Three New Episodes

From "You May Now Kill the Bride"

CSI Miami returns on Monday, March 24 with new episodes. Only brief synopses are available at this time. We’ll get a two part episode, airing Monday 3/31 and Tuesday 4/1. And that’s no April Fools.

A horrifying sight for any bride

March 24 “You May Now Kill the Bride”
A bride is murdered at her wedding and one of the suspects is the groom, who is a professional baseball player. The investigation leads the CSIs to a strip club where the bachelor party took place.

March 31 “Ambush”
Part 1 of 2. Horatio (David Caruso) investigates a murder that may be connected to Julia (Elizabeth Berkley), but she has him extradited to Brazil to face murder charges for a killing he committed two years ago. Meanwhile, Calleigh (Emily Procter) is cyberstalked by someone who is putting her alleged work mistakes on the Internet.

"Ambush" Image from Modern Day Gallery

April 1 All In
Conclusion. Horatio faces murder charges in Brazil for a killing he committed two years ago, and the team searches for Calleigh (Emily Procter) after she is kidnapped.

You know, I haven’t had a good laugh in weeks, so I’m looking forward to CSI-Miami’s return.

Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

Bones Returns with New Episodes on April 14

Image from Fox

Finally we are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel with some good shows returning with new episodes. Bones will be coming back to Fox on a new day, MONDAY, April 14.

I could only find some brief details on this new episode, called “The Baby in the Bough:"

"A woman's car is run off the road and she is killed, but her baby miraculously survives the accident. Booth and Brennan go to the woman's hometown to try to find out who's responsible for running her car off the road. Bones, with help from Booth, takes care of the baby until the team finds out who killed the mother."



Bones is one of those shows that can grow on you. I’ve been watching it since the show premiered and admit I was a little shaky about it at first. I think it was because of the cheesy, hard to swallow special effects in the lab, and the even more cheesy car scenes that clearly speared to be filmed in a stationary car with a film backdrop. It reminded me of a bad 1950s movie. I suppose I can understand why the producers may not have wanted to put tons of money into a show that they may not have been sure of its success.

In case you haven’t seen the show, here’s some background information. The show is centered on Dr. Temperence Brennan (Emily Deschanel) who is probably the tops in her field of forensic anthropology. She works at the Jeffersonian Institute in Washington, DC, and writes novels as a sideline. (It’s based on books by real life author Kathy Reichs.) Because her career centers on bones, she has earned the nickname “Bones” from Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz), who is with the FBI's Homicide Investigations Unit, and brings Bones into cases that require her forensic skills. Her staff at the Jeffersonian supports her in solving these crimes.

The show is like a lot of the crime procedurals on television now, but it has one important difference – the center of the show seems to be the chemistry between Booth and Bones. Over time, they have made this relationship a mixture of attraction, annoyance, respect, with a little comedy thrown in. Somewhere in there is usually a case to be investigated. The show has a tendency at times to go a little over the top on the grossness level, but considering her field, I suppose it’s to be expected.

The relationship between Booth and Bones – the spark – is what keeps the show going and makes it very enjoyable. Emily Deschanel’s monotone, clinical delivery plays very well off of David Boreanaz’s playful, yet sometimes cynical banter. While the plots are sometimes thin and the supporting cast sometimes a distraction (case in point Bones’ boss Dr. Saroyan (Tamara Taylor)), the show works well and provides a decent hour of entertainment.

So I’m excited that the show is coming back with some new episodes. Hopefully I’ll have no Bones to pick with it.

Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

CSI Miami’s David Caruso – Unbearable?!

Who would believe that people would say David Caruso is unbearable on the set of CSI Miami? Ummmm, well, how about everybody? The following story featured by MSNBC shouldn’t be of any surprise to anyone who knows Caruso back from his NYPD Blue days. But it made me snicker, just the same. Oh yeah, the extra bonus piece from the Defamer below was just icing on the cake for me. Funny thing is, the campy and over the top Caruso is one of the reasons why I watch CSI Miami. It’s certainly not for the quality of the stories or the acting.


From MSNBC:
Caruso accused of being difficult, demanding

A snitch on the set of "CSI: Miami" says that star David Caruso spits, curses and acts like a "man-child" when filming.

By Ree Hines
MSNBC contributor
updated 10:16 p.m. ET, Mon., March. 17, 2008
Lieutenant Horatio Caine may be Miami’s smoothest lawman, but according to one insider, the actor behind the character is more of a demanding diva. Defamer reports that “CSI: Miami’s” David Caruso stands accused of spitting, cursing and behaving like a tortured “man-child” on set.

“(David) can't walk and talk at the same time (you should see him on stairs), requires dozens of takes for simplest line-readings (which as we all know, he can only do one way) and can't even put his ‘CSI’ gloves on on-camera (always a time cut, just watch),” said a source going by the moniker “OnSetSnitch.”

“Snitch,” who claims to have witnessed production of almost 50 episodes of the hit show, contacted Defamer after the site posted a story about David’s sunglasses-enhanced acting method. (NOTE: The Defamer Info is posted below this MSNBC article)

“Caruso is without a doubt, the most tortured, saddest man-child/ actor I've ever seen in over 15 years of movie and TV-making.” The alleged insider went on to say, “He will cuss uncontrollably (often in front of a child actor) and blame everyone but himself for his inability to act. He used to hack up big loogies on the floor of the set, too, until a producer gently reminded him of sanitation and courtesy.”


Here’s the Defamer piece:

Mannerisms David Caruso Bullies Young Director Into Shooting Umpteenth Sunglasses Removal Scene

By now, seemingly every pop culture pundit worth their weight in punchlines has latched onto the high comedic value of David Caruso's effusive stylings on CSI: Miami. In particular, The Soup's Joel McHale has taken extreme delight in (and created a cottage industry from) Caruso's patented "I'm going to hastily remove my sunglasses while I deliver this one-liner" maneuver. But until we read this insider's account of Caruso's excruciating acting process on Popbitch, the TV viewer in us always just kind of naively assumed that these moments happened semi-serendipitously. But boy oh boy, were we ever wrong:
David Caruso asks [the show's director] when there will be a close up of [his] sunglasses - in every scene.

Here's the full, unedited text of the Popbitch item (typos/Anglo-isms theirs):

Just back from LA and was staying with a friend who's in Jericho. One of the scriptwriters for the show used to work on CSI: Miami and apparently David Caruso r4eally is the arse he appears. A new director was setting up a shot and as he was laying out the scene suggested that Caruso should walk through a door, into a room and pick up a bottle of something and open it etc. The producers took the tyro to one side and pointed out that "David gets a bit lost in props". Reasonably pointing out that it was quite a simple manoeuvre he was told that there was only a limited amount of time for the shoot and David didn't have the time to work out the meaning of the props. Gradually the action was whittled down to him just walking through the door and giving his line. To this the young director is once again taken to one side and it is explained to him that "David isn't very good with thresholds". He also asks when, in the scene, there will be a close up of the sunglasses - in every scene.

While we would never begrudge a star a chance to indulge themselves and their adoring audience with a trademark move or catchphrase, nothing about David Caruso's demeanor or any evidence from the item above indicates to us that he's the type of guy who is in on the joke. Either way, we're just thankful that his painstaking dedication to his craft allows us all to continue 'avin a laff at his expense, Extras style.



And just because it’s funny, and of course relevant, here’s the YouTube video of endless Horatio Caine one liners. I’ve posted this on my blog before, but this is one of those times where you just can’t get too much of a “good” (snicker) thing.




Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

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. "

Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

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.


Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

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.

Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

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.


Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

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.


Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

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.


Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.

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?

Check out my blog home page for the latest information,here.