k-kegn's Blog

CSI: Two and a Half Deaths

Wow. Can the CSI producing team have these sitcom writers do a follow up next season? Last night’s show will go down as one of my all time favorites. When the L.A. agent walked through the lab and remarked, “Beautiful cops working high tech. There’s a series in that” -- I just knew it was going to be a fun episode.

I think my favorite scene was the one of Warrick holding a large patch of carpet with a Rorschach bloodstain and then asking Gil and Catherine what they thought of it.

Gil: A hermaphrodite on roller-skates
Catherine: A puppy.

A silly joke but you know, Gil would say that wouldn’t he. Love the Grissom.

I also enjoyed the tongue in cheek humor regarding the crime solving writing on these shows, especially at the end where the guilty party [Rachel Harris] has a long winded, colorful, and far fetched back story to explain her motive and means.
Kind of like the recent CSI: NY and its ending where the killer cheerleader spent months growing her exotic plants and grinding them to make a poison to put on her lips so that she could take her revenge at some basketball contest game because she had once been a contestant too but was obese then and was ridiculed by the fans and that traumatized her which resulted in the elaborate revenge. Got all that? Jeez…

Other good moments: The cameo of the Two and a Half Men cast, especially the kid smoking a cigar.

I’m thinking executive producer Chuck Lorre can die a happy man now that he’s got his payback on Roseanne Barr, Cybil Shepard, and Brett Butler because the character Annabelle had to be a combination of all three.

Another good episode this week, even if I had some minor nit picking but I thought it was enjoyable overall with some very strong acting by Tennant and Tate. Especially Catherine Tate. They are TnT, baby!.
I can’t really complain too much because this one had one of my favorite themes-- The Roman Empire-- and I loved the humor that went with it:

“I’m Spartacus”
“I’m Spartacus too”

“Don’t want to disrupt the status quo”
“They’re Celtic”

I liked the creature fx, heck I’m a sucker for the monster of the week stuff, and I liked the way the design of their stony helmets complimented the Roman look but I wished they were utilized more towards the ending. They kind of just lumbered around in the last act. I did think they were a bit better than the seers, who really didn’t impress me all that much. But there was the Doctor with his water pistol to make up for it, and the fx of the volcanic ash engulfing Pompeii was really well done.

My final note: what a great scene of Donna and the Doctor agonizing over the decision to end Pompeii and save the Earth. These are my favorite scenes of Ten, where his mad scientist mask starts to crack and we see a very dark tragic figure behind it.

Next week: Oodles of Oods!

My good friend Lori D and I usually call each other almost every week and sure enough at some point in our catch up time, the conversation turns to tv. By the way, Lori does a much better job at reviewing. Check her blog.

Many times we have a good laugh over the CSI franchise. For instance, what is with the super expensive computer tech FX on the Miami show? Are they competing with the Bones team with their hologram computer system? Does NASA know about their cool equipment? Speaking of NASA, I suggested to Lori that that’s where Danny Messer will head off to one of these days. Solving a case for NASA, on the Moon. Because that guy can do anything. Now I don’t follow the NY show as much as Lori does [did], but whenever I tuned in there was Danny easily climbing the Statue of Liberty, or deep sea diving. So many hidden talents! So if there’s a dead astronaut out in space, Danny Messer is your guy to send. “I got your moonrock samples. Boom.”

Now the one I try to follow the most is the Original Recipe and to me, it’s like Masterpiece Theater compared to the other two, the Miami one being the worst in my opinion.
Last night’s episode had a quirky storyline that was done nicely, and great humor by just about everyone. There’s a nice dry wit to this show that the others seem to lack.
Maybe the other shows try too much with their heavy hip music and outrageous computer FX to make these scientists "So Cool!". That stuff really distracts me. So far, the Original Flavor keeps it to a minimum.

Thought I should update this blog. It's been awhile.

Glad to see the Doctor on my tv again. I thought last week's was fine in that "special guest star" type of episode.
But last night's was fun. Seriously, there were moments where I was saying "what in the hell?" and then burst out laughing--in a good way. Especially in the scenes when the cute blobby aliens all come bursting out of their victims and then proceeded to march down the city streets. Very disgustng, very bizarre, kinda cute..altogether twisted and I loved it.
I also loved the exchange between Donna and the Doctor when they first spot each other.Those two are gonna rock.

I'm sure there's a lot of "worst show ever!" posts about Viva Laughlin out there right now. Me? I'm gonna stick with it until CBS cancels it which may be in a day or two.
Ya see I'm a big fan of Blackpool which was a BBC/BBC America miniseries that Viva Laughlin is based on.
I got a copy of it last year from a co-worker who was a David Tennant [Doctor Who] fan like myself. I really enjoyed Blackpool.
It's weird, a bit cheesy, but so much fun.
It starred David Morrisey as Ripley Holden, Sarah Parrish as Natalie Holden, and Tennant as Peter Carlisle.Terrific performances from all three of them.

I keep seeing comparisons to Cop Rock and yeah it might be like that for others but for me when I saw Blackpool it reminded me of Moulin Rouge.
When I first saw Moulin Rouge I didn't know what to expect. In the first scene I thought it was teetering on lame.Then Kylie Minogue flew up to the screen and said "Hello! I'm the green fairy!" and that's when it just clicked for me. At that point I laughed and thought I'm going to enjoy this ride cause that's what it was. I also remember the audiences reactions.It was spilt down the middle. You loved it or you hated it.I felt that Blackpool was the same way. Viva Laughlin could be too, although I think it's more "hate" at this point.

Blackpool's Ripley Holden was such a horrible character, really mean. But I loved him though. He was outrageous and had Elvis mutton chops and was singing his heart out to Queen's "Don't Stop me Now". That jerk was a blast. I couldn't believe I was rooting for him but I was.
Then you have scruffy Scottish Tennant with his burned out rumpled detective act. Both were very colorful characters that were mesmerizing on screen.

I think Viva Laughlin is trying. At least it's different. I can think of other shows that are much worse with flat dialogue and pretty cardboard actors.
I like to see Laughlin improve. The U.S. version characters are not as quirky and dark as the originals.It really needs a darker edge. There's too much glitz in this version. Blackpool didn't have hot showgirls. It had regular folks doing the numbers and that was part of it's charm.

Still I liked Hugh and loved seeing D.B. Woodside again. That man is always cool.
Thought the Melanie Griffith number was forced.
Ah well. I'm hope it's going to click. I'll probably tune in just to see how far they go --or how far they can go before CBS pulls it-- in their storylines. I'm curious to see what they keep from the orignal plot.

Hi Jinx
Saturday marathon. Channel 48.

This was one of my favorite syndicated sitcoms and it's back for a marathon this Sat. to make way for new episodes later this fall.

Hi Jinx was about two bachelors, Guy & Joe , who find a baby left on their doorstep then discover the tot has magical powers. Uncontrollable powers of course because she's a little baby. Little Magic Susy was often the cause of many gags, mostly visual. For example whenever she had the hiccups, she turned different colors. Not sure what she did when she had gas but they always made it some kind of big deal off camera. Big crash and commotion off screen.

But my favorite "crazy magic' jokes were when it revolved around an important event for Joe or Guy, or both. Like the time they went to see Star Wars Episode III and lost the baby just as they were about to enter the theater. The highlight of that episode was the cameo by George Lucas, who eventually finds the baby. She was piloting an R2D2 display and Lucas tried to hire her on the spot. Then Guy and Joe catch up and Guy immediately misunderstood the situation [typical sitcom plot point]. He tasered Lucas right in front of a long line of Star Wars geeks. The final credits roll up as we see Joe and Guy wildly running down the street followed by thousands of angry fans in Benny Hill style. At the very end, a giggling flying R2D2 soars right into the camera cutting to a final black ending.Nice!

By the second season, more characters knew of Magic Susy. Nosy next door neighbor Jean-luc Gebhearte and Guy's boss Capt Jay Devodana--who always had a saying after every mishap "Guy! That baby of yours!.

I guess the writers were running out of ideas for the fellas to continually cover up their magic baby. It started to be repetitive-and silly-because they lost the baby again at a ZZtop concert. But I still found the show to be a solid charmer.

I'm interested to see the new episodes when Magic Susy enters pre-school and she meets her new "cousin", which will be Capt. Devodana's adopted baby Emmie [she's from another planet like Ork where Mork was].
I have hope that the magic [pun intended] will still be there.

I'm so glad Dexter's back on my tv again.

I'm worried about Doakes. He was one of my favorite characters last year with his verbal assaults on Dexter. But I think his stalking is a oneway ticket of badness and will probably be the end of him.
I had to laugh at the shot of him opposite Little Chino. He still acted like he could take that giant on.

I have to say that I loved the wide angles of the sea floor with the hundreds of body bags. Beautifully shot, even though it is creepy.

The Johnnys
FX Channel 10 EST
Two unorthodox cops reluctantly team up to solve crimes on the mean streets of Phila, Pa. In the pilot, Johnny Devo and Jon Gebs are teamed up on case that eerily parallels a famous crime novelist's latest book. Mayor Teegan: Kay Egen. Captain Chuck Norris: Guy D. Bitterman. Guest star: Lori Dee. Super Sugar Crisp Sugar Bear: Joe Lampone.

Unfortunately there's not much going in this cliched cop drama, except for a solid cast. The plot was weak but the characters were colorful. For instance, I was intrigued by officer Devo's background: he has a master's degree in mystical ancient ninja warfare. I expected some stylish butt-kicking as a result to that little bit of history but that's where they failed to deliver. What I got were stories of his "days in 'Nam". It's hard to believe since he's 35 years old.
Devo's partner is Jon Gebs, a hardened 14 year veteran who drives a Ford Torino, just like Starksy and Hutch. He has several girls on his mobile list and seems to be in relationships with all of them.
Now I don't mind cliches as long as they work, but the scene of Captain Chuck Norris diffusing a bomb had nothing to do with the plot of this episode which was about a crime novelist and her murder mystery, that centered on poison. Guest star Lori Dee gives a noteworthy performance as the haunted novelist and was an added bonus to this dynamic ensemble. I can already see romantic sparks with Devo and the red-headed medical examiner [ played by the actor's real life wife]. Also the shady power hungry Mayor Teegan maybe my new favorite villain. I'll wait and see how this show develops.

next week : Hi-Jinx: Two dudes. One magic baby. No rules.