Another List!: My Summer TV Show Reviews

Since I've had so much forced resting time lately (most of it delightedly so) I've had to audition some new tv shows. What I've discovered mostly is that, if you want to watch something clean that isn't reality tv, you've got to watch a crime show. Good, clean murder, that's the only thing that's acceptable.

Here's my reviews of the shows I've tried out since beginning my convalescence:


o Castle: At first I thought the show was rather ghoulish for making so many light jokes surrounding grisly murders and grieving loved ones, but I got over it. It's funny and they have lots of fun with it. I would like to see the people in their crimes having better motives for murder. Their criminals seem to be rather willy nilly about who they take out and why. Still, definitely worth watching.


o Numb3rs: meh. I tried watching one episode 3 different times and couldn't really get an angle on the characters that drew me in. Perhaps if I could find the pilot and watch that I'll give it another try. I did find this site: www.reeltvlinks.com that seems to have back episodes of shows. Maybe I'll find it there.

o Cold Case: I like the characters, I like the premise. I think it's interesting how the cold cases have a few advantages over the newer cases. At least within the premise of the show, alliances change, teens grow up, people leave their jobs and are willing to talk to police about things that they felt they would have been penalized for talking about at the time of the crime. I like that you can see a spin on a crime that we wouldn't think of as a motive nowadays: like the fair skinned man who was technically "black" and couldn't let people know about it in the 50's if he wanted to keep his job and his marriage to the boss's daughter.

It does focus a bit too much on the personal lives of the characters. Generally I find in a crime or court show, I want to watch the story of the case we're working on, and not so much about who everyone is dating. I think this accounts for the long time success of Law & Order. They touch only lightly on the personal lives and stick to the matter at hand: the law and the order.

Another complaint I have is that, due to the lack of new physical evidence in most cases, people keep confessing to old crimes without any real motivation to do so. Most episodes end with someone deciding "it's about time this story was told...." and then confessing so they can spend the rest of their lives in jail. Rarely is there enough evidence to convict anyone without a confession.


o The Closer: speaking of confessions, I love the premise of this show. If Kyra was on Cold Case, I could totally buy that every episode ends in confession because that is her specialty and she's really good at it. Ric and I have noted that she's very humble and willing to play whatever part is needed to get the confession. I find humble yet capable characters to be delightful to watch (see: Harry Potter, Sam Beckett, and Monk.)

In this show they do focus a lot on her personal life, but I don't mind it. I wonder if that's because it's only the main character that they follow home and not just any old cop in the precinct or if there is some other element that makes the difference.


Those older shows have kept me occupied enough this summer. However, we have watched a few of the brand new crime shows this season too:

o Rizzoli and Isles: I have not yet made it through the whole pilot. I got to a really scary part and saw that Ric had fallen asleep and I wasn't brave enough to watch it by myself. Ric watched it later and proclaimed that it didn't get scarier, but I haven't gone back to it yet. Ric really liked the show, but it might turn out to be creepier than I care for.

o Rookie Blue: I'm a tad irritated by networks' seeming need for another series about impossibly beautiful and young people all clumped together in the same circumstance. But, I find the show tolerable and engaging. I've been TiVoing it and I have watched them as soon as they become available so maybe that says something.

o Leverage: We missed the pilot so I've been trying to drag through a whole episode. I imagine I'll find it more interesting when I've sat all the way through it.

o Memphis Beat: This show has a weird vibe to it. It goes back and forth between having a drama show feeling and a silly, we're all just goofy cops feeling. Hopefully that will settle into something recognizable within a few episodes. Pilots are hard -- especially if there's no narrator or flashbacks or other plausible way to tell your backstory. You end up with odd dialogue like, "Gee, Holly, you arrested that burglar so fast it reminded me of the time that your husband left you for your twin sister and you ended up in a mental institution before you decided to pull it together and join the police force!"


If you have crime shows or summertime shows that you find are clean and worth watching, let me know.