It's Halloween tonight and I could do something special, but if I'm honest around where I live it's safest to sit inside and pretend you're not home. Sadly the British youth don't see Halloween in the same light as the American ones seem to, this year not only is the typical egging, flouring, toilet papering and dog poop flinging going on but there has even been rumours of threatened car fires (unconfirmed of course, but still - it sounds cool). Regardless while Halloween should be a fun day where you can take the kids out and everyone can dress up in cheap, tacky costumes it's not like that around here. So I'm playing count the police cars instead, we're up to three so far and the night is still young.

I was half considering listing my favourite Halloween episodes of various shows, a top ten or a top five. But I decided instead to be lazy and list my favourite 6 lists instead.

There are in no particular order, except for the one in the number one position, cause that one is the best. You'll also notice certain episodes appear multiple times, that's cause they are that good *cough* Slutty Pumpkin *cough* Hush *cough*

6. Starpulse's Favourite Halloween-Themed TV Episodes
Ten items on this list and many of them even have links to the relevant parts (or episodes) on YouTube, what more could you ask for?

5. Defamer's Top Ten
There's a nice twist in this entry as it's a video list. I've only seen a few of the episodes listed in this one mind you.

4. Halloween Addict's Top 5 Scary Creepy TV Episodes
Not strictly speaking a Halloween list as such, but anything which includes the truly creepy Buffy episode 'Hush' is worth a look.

3. Examiner's take on the Fancast list
I've decided to use this one over the fancast list because this version has the addition of the great Frasier episode, but on the whole this list is a little "eh". Still there are some good mentions in here and links to watch the episodes you like the sound of so it's worth a peek.

2. Canada.com's top 5 scariest TV Shows
They say top 5 scariest shows, but they do mean episodes. A short list but a couple of the selections are decent.

1. IGN's Top 10 Halloween TV Episodes
This list is just great, not only do they list 'Freaks and Geeks' and 'My So Called Life' but this is also the list that got me watching How I Met Your Mother. I read the review of "Slutty Pumpkin" and decided that the show was worth a shot. I'm glad I did.

Until tomorrow, have a good evening and enjoy something really spooky. If your pants ain't brown by the end of the night you're not trying hard enough (or you're not wearing brown pants, one or the other).
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The usual suspects this week, I trawlled a little to try and find more but I couldn't. I expect most people will sit about twiddling their thumbs just watching the show until the finale and then everyone and his keyboard literate dog will spew out their thoughts onto the internet.

Instead, let's just stick with the loyal people who've reviewed the show all season.

Jason Pinter has switched to a series of notes and thoughts about the episode instead of his usual recap followed by short analysis this week.

Capone over at Ain't it Cool has a bit of spoiler free (I guess teaser) information about the finale along with his usual point driven thoughts. I'd warn you that there is a chance for spoilers if you follow this link and keep wandering beyond it. I stopped as soon as I thought there might be an inkling of something, so I can't confirm or deny that. It's just my suspicions.

Alan Sepinwall is someone who has already seen the final episode of The Shield, but you have no need to worry about spoilers in his post, he's meticulous about avoiding them. All he's willing to hint at is how great he found it.

Jason Zingale at Premium Hollywood continues to review the episodes, the picture of Shane he's used on the page really sums up Shane's situation so well.

I might not agree with Jonathan Toomey's feelings on Dutch, but I certainly enjoy reading his review. It's one of the better review series being run over at TVSquad right now.

Tom R pushes on with his recap and review, while there's more of the recap and less of the review in the feature I still find the odd detail I may have missed there and I personally can't get enough of reading about The Shield.

The synopsis at imdb is a little unwieldy this week. While it is still broken up into paragraphs I found it slightly hard going to get through this time.

Last but certainly not least we have Billy's review over at Geeky Talk. I have to say Billy, I believe I'm concerned about Dutch suffering the same fate you are. I'm also looking forward to your 'memorial' piece about it once the show is over.
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I've had the complete sixth series for a while now, but I haven't been able to get around to watching it until now. I'm still only part way through, but that just makes it easier to review the final part of this series without spoilering events for those who've not seen this most excellent show.




Packaging:

Extras:

This time we miss out on:
Live Panel Discussion with Tom Fontana, Barry Levinson, James Yoshimura, and David Simon
Barry Levinson's Acceptance Speech for the 2004 Video Software Dealers Association Career Achievement Award
Commentary with Tom Fontana, Julie Martin, and James Yoshimura on the Episode "Forgive Us Our Trespasses"
Cast Biographies

Sure it's not that much, but still. Come on!

Also, much to my annoyance Homicide: The Movie is not included amongst all of the episodes, which means that one is left hanging on Fremantle's less than considerable graces awaiting to see the final story lines resolve. Bah!

Details:
Runtime: 960 mins
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Audio: 2.0 Stereo
Language: English
Colour: Colour/Pal
Region: 2
Subtitles: English Hard-of-hearing

Price:
Here's the good news, Sendit have this set for the low price of £17.89, which works out at 1.9 ppm. Even HMV in the street has it at £20 right now (in stores). So this is a great time to pick up the set.



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This week the quote comes not from the show by from my brother who watched this episode with me at my place. We've been sat for forty minutes watching just about every single last thing on the show fall apart and everything that, well, everyone has worked for fall down.

Read about the end times beyond the link...

Almost every single character was brought low this episode, there was one rising star amongst it all and more on him later, but for the rest? Vic unable to do almost anything without his badge. Shane forced to scrabble about squatting while his little boy suffers with hooping cough. Billings planting evidence (or having it planted) to remove a registered sex offender from his ex-wives neighbourhood. Dutch manipulating Lloyd's mother. Julien being busted (at least temporarily) back down to uniform. The Strike Team disbanded. And to cap it all off, Ronnie cracking when confronted by Claudette and providing a story that is bedded in enough truth that he might just pull it off.

Acevada is the only person who seems to be on the ascendancy now, he's playing hard ball with I.C.E. over Pezula. It's making him somewhat unlikable, but I can completely understand what he's doing and why he's doing it. Becoming mayor is his chance, his step to walk away and make a difference. Working for I.C.E. is putting that at a risk. But the way he delivered his ultimatum was exceptionally cold. I suspect being close to Vic all these years has tainted him, much like it taints everyone. Regardless, it's great to see the I.C.E. case build up to a massive target, it's a shame that Vic doesn't seem able to hang his coat tails on this one yet. If he can do something there it might save him somewhat.

Lets move onto Vic, he looks so tired and worn out now. Left scrambling around in the dark with absolutely no chance of salvation. It's clear that he's a man with few options left and almost nothing to lose,

The hospital scene was a little, weak overall, the build up was amazing, but the payoff afterwards was a little weak. No questioning of Shane and Mara by the arresting police officers, not even an attempt to detain them, especially as you have Vic with his gun levelled at a man, his wife and their child. Surely other members of the LAPD could put that together, you'd think that something would be released to other districts. It was a great moment as he levelled his gun at them, shame the writers didn't know where to go from there. Vic should have bugged out and started running before the police fully arrived. Mind you, the way it did play out was the best one fore Vic, he would have been on CCTV otherwise.

Just in case you're wondering, Vic is chasing after them with a Desert Eagle, his police sidearm was a S&W 4506.

Ronnie played his hand so well, if Shane and Vic don't screw things up for him he now has a good shot at turning away from this dark time in his life and moving on. Claudette was quite right not to let him carry on the Strike Team after what happened, but hopefully he'll get another chance at things. Then again, he could still end up catching a bullet before it's all over.

I'm thoroughly impressed with Julien, he's come out of his time on the Strike Team as a complete straight edge, refusing to leak information to Ronnie under any circumstances. He knows enough to understand what would happen if he did and he knows not to break the rules. But I can't help wonder if Tina is leaking information to Ronnie anyway, he did seem very well informed for someone who's supposed to be confined to a desk and kept out of the loop.

Dutch's serial killer pursuit heats up here. I'm starting to get a little concerned about what's going to happen to him, Lloyd is definitely a serious threat, both to his mother and to Dutch. If he isn't careful he could end up becoming a victim to his greatest obsession. The irony of Dutch being killed by a budding serial killer isn't lost on me.

In an episode with so much going on it would be easy to lose Billings, but instead his given a strong story to play with. The parallels between Vic/Shane and Billings/Dutch were obvious, I don't think the show needed Dutch to spell it out for the viewers. It could be the start of a dark path for Billings, he idolises Vic enough already, he doesn't need to start emulating Vic as well.

And last of all, Shane and Mara. Reduced to running around LA barely one step ahead of Vic, desperately hiding. Forced to squat, reduced to threatening over the phone. It's incredible how far and fast they've fallen in the matter of moments. The phone conversation between Vic and Shane was electrifying, gone were all the pretences and the two men were able to admit just how much they hated each other. Likewise the conversations between Mara and Corrine show the difference between the two women, Mara is a complete shrew, but she's strong and capable. Willing to back up Shane all the way, refusing to take the easy way out and even able to turn Corrine away from Vic.

Utterly brilliant episode with so much tension and action it was untrue. It seems everyone is set to implode at this point and only a few people look able to escape from the train wreck this show has become. I can't wait for this final month to pan out. I'm more excited than I was watching the final episodes of 'The Wire' and the end of last season's Dexter.

OK few things to consider before we leave:

• Vic has a blank passport. That's an insurance option for him there. New life, fresh start.
• Vic's pushing hard with I.C.E. I'm not convinced he'd get a post in the department, but it would be wonderfully ironic if he did. Having Vic wander into the Barn one final time in his I.C.E. jacket just so he could stick it to Claudette would be great.
• Ronnie is one heck of a prodigy, he's not only learnt from Vic he's evolved beyond him. Shane doesn't know how to do things right, Ronnie does.
• Still no sign of Danny. One last appearance for her please!
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Starring:
Tamsin Greig as Dr. Caroline Todd
Sally Bretton as Kim Alabaster
Lucinda Raikes as Karen Ball
Oliver Chris as Boyce
Olivia Colman as Harriet Schulenburg
Michelle Gomez as Sue White
Pippa Haywood as Joanna Clore
Mark Heap as Dr. Alan Statham
Katie Lyons as Naughty Rachel
Stephen Mangan as Dr. Guillaume 'Guy' Valerie Secretan
Julian Rhind-Tutt as Dr. 'Mac' Macartney
Karl Theobald as Dr. Martin Dear
and Sarah Alexander as Dr. Angela Hunter





Packaging:

Extras:
There is a decent selection of extras for each series of the show and they break down as follows:

Series 1:
Deleted Scenes
Audio Commentary on episodes 1,2,5 and 9
Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
Cast & Crew Blogs

Series 2:
Deleted Scenes
Audio Commentary on episodes 4, 6 and 8
Behind-the-Scenes Featurette

Special:
Deleted Scenes
Alternative Ending
Audio Commentary
Behind-the-Scenes Featurette

There is also an eighth disc that contains previously unreleased material:
Green Wing - The Phenomenon Documentary
Deleted Scenes
Green Wing Music

The Details:
Running Time: 1,024 mins (212 for extras)
Soundtrack: English Stereo
Subtitles: English Hard of Hearing
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Colour: PAL
Region: 2

Price:



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I've finally put my finger on the root cause of my malaise where Dexter's third season has been concerned. It lays not with the show at all, it's my curiosity combined with that inappropriately titled news item at tv.com. As such I've already known the direction the season was taking, I still know the further direction at this point. Watching the show after having it unintentionally spoiled has reduced the impact of the show greatly.

I'd like to direct you to Dan's excellent review in lieu of a full one from myself, because it was very difficult for me to get excited about the big reveal at the end of this episode. Instead I shall just be bullet pointing a few of the things I did enjoy in this episode.

The short version is, the episode was very good. Easily the best one so far this season.

Read in short about fishing, character development and bullet points beyond the link...

• First of all, I'm thrilled with the direction they've taken Vince this season, I hope the colder and harder Vince remains around. Using him as a throwaway joke/pervert/clown was a real shame. He's better than that. A nice mix between the two would do.

• Jimmy Smits is just fantastic as Prado, I hope his final fate this season doesn't match the fates of Brian, Lila and Doakes in the previous two seasons. He has the potential to be a very interesting point in both Dexter's life and the series as a whole.

• Debs side story is still pretty lame, mostly because of Quinn and the terrible guy they have playing the CI, I really don't care for either of them at all. There seems to be some kind of strange love interest angle they're trying to push at with regards to her and the CI. Ugh, talk about cliched, trite and a lack of chemistry...

• Sadly likewise with Angel's storyline involving the vice cop, it was pretty predictable that it would go this way. Hopefully they have a little something more for him then just a plain ordinary 'chase the pretty lady' romance plot. David Zayas deserves a stronger plot to match his abilities.

• I'm liking the direction between Rita and Dexter, moving them closer together is just great.

• Last of all, hooray that the events in the show have almost reached the point that was spoilered. I'm tired of knowing what's up ahead, I want to be surprised by this show - just like the first two seasons which had me on the edge of my seat all the way through.

Overall, it was an excellent episode. My own experiences of this show have just been horribly tainted, I can't let that reflect badly on Dexter. It's not the fault of the show.
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Just a friendly reminder for those of you located in the land of bowler hats and tea drinking (GB) that the most excellent Charlie Brooker's first writing foray will be debuting tonight at 10pm on E4.

It's called Dead Set and in theme for the season it's about zombies. It will continue to air in 5 hour long episodes ending this Friday.

The official site is located at http://www.e4.com/deadset/ and for those people who miss it the DVD is out in November. I shall be reviewing the thing in it's entirety this Saturday.

PS. New Sharpe on Saturday! Hooray!
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In this weeks adventure Stephen takes us on a journey up the mighty Mississippi river, visiting no less than ten states along the way. From the mouth of the river in New Orleans, Louisiana all the way to source in Minnesota.

In New Orleans, Mardi Gras is in full swing when we start and it also seems that Stephen injured his arm at some point between Alabama and here. But it's not mentioned how or why in the episode, which is fair enough because it's about more the country, not the man. Still I must admit it nagged at me for quite a while and I was often wondering what happened. In addition to Mardi Gras we also get an insight into Voodoo, a culture that permeates the saturates the city. Then finally we're taken on a tour of the devastated ninth ward, still not repaired after hurricane Katrina hit. A place where ninty percent of the homes there were destroyed and a young marine named Isiah, who compares the state of the neighbourhood to that of war torn Iraq, guides Stephen around the desolate streets.

Next we're taken out of the city and towards the legendary Angola State Penitary (also known as "The Farm", a prison where nine in ten inmates are lifers. The prison warden Burl Caine is rightly proud his reforms in the jail, a place as large as the entire island of Manhattan, as he has turned the place around from a violent and desolate place filled with gangs into a place of genuine reform.

Leaving Louisiana behind we pass through the town of Natchez, filled with beautiful antebellum architecture before heading to Clarksdale, the home of the Blues and also the home of Morgan Freeman's club Ground Zero where Stephen meets with Morgan and the pair of them wax lyrical for a while.

After spending some time canoeing on the Mississippi itself Stephen travels to St Louis, Missouri - the gateway city, where he spends some time talking with a homeless man named William and travelling through the old abandoned stockyards to meet with more of the homeless.

Then it's a trip to Maharishi Vedic City in Iowa, the foundation and home of Transcendental Meditation, he meets with one Dr Fred Travis and has his alpha brain waves tested before talking a little about TM itself.

From here it's a trip through Indiana and Ohio to Michigan. In Indiana Stephen takes a ride in an Elkhart fire truck and chats about the great American hero, the fireman, before experiencing what it's like to be inside a smoke filled house - unpleasant would be the word of choice. In Ohio Stephen talks about the Kent State Massacre, where on May 4th 1970, thirteen students were shot by the national guard for protesting about Vietnam. A terrible incident that marked the point where the free spirit of the sixties died. In Michigan Stephen visits Detroit (Motown) and talks with John, a passionate car designer who has finally achieved his dream of designing a Cadillac.

From there it's over to Chicago, Illinois. Stephen first meets with the legendary Buddy Guys about the dying nature of the Blues and the changing landscape of music before heading to the also legendary "Second City" comedy club, a place where such greats as Bill Murray, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Carrell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and the awesome Stephen Colbert have all performed. To this distinguished list of alumni in comedy you can now add Stephen Fry who was called up to perform on stage while he visited. Then while being initiated the following day at the wiener circle he has some sage advice to pass onto the young comedians with him, never give up because you can't be sure when you'll get your break.

Also in Chicago Stephen assists in making an Oscar and then admires the view from the once tallest building in the world the Sear's Tower. The wonderful shots of the city at night remind me once again of my own observations when travelling over New York and Newark. The way the traffic travels along the roads of America looks so much like life blood coursing through veins and arteries, it's a fantastic site that evoked many memories.

Next we travel through the ridiculously cold Wisconsin, so cold that Stephen's water is frozen in it's bottle, and meet with a woman who has a noble calling indeed. She intends to bring decent, proper cheese to America. Now I love the country, but I have to completely agree with Stephen's sentiment here. American cheese is utterly lousy, it's amongst the worst in the world - if not actually the worst. But here at least some proper decent cheese is being made in the traditional ways. And bravo for it!

Finally we travel to Minnesota, where Stephen learns about the Hmongs who sided with America in the Vietnam war and were allowed to immigrate into the country after America's defeat. They're a fascinating people who clearly still yearn for their homeland, but have made Minnesota their home. Finally Stephen heads back to the Mississippi river itself and partakes in some ice fishing - catching a Sunfish for his troubles.

Just like the previous two episodes this one was a delight to watch, America truly is a beautiful country filled with interesting and wonderful people. The episode was a delight to watch, Stephen is - as always - a delight to watch on screen.

In next weeks episode Stephen travels from Montana to Texas.

As always the episode is available to watch on the most excellent BBC iplayer and I'd like to also recommend the book as it contains a lot of additional material written with Stephen's incomparable style and wit.
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Read about dead soldiers, chess and gloves that shine like gold beyond the link...

The Recap:

The episode opens down in the Pit, an addict hassles Dee and the boys seeking a fix, but the product hasn’t arrived yet so Bodie sends him packing with some harsh words. Dee takes Bodie to task for this and queries his ‘customer service’, echoing McNulty’s sentiment in the previous episode and asking why drugs can’t be sold the same way as everything else is. It’s clear that McNulty’s question got to him and he’s been wondering the same. He’s interrupted by Bubbles, who arrives with the hats and marks out both Dee and Bodie with a red hat – signalling to Kima that they’re persons of interest, Poot and Wallace both get other hats as well. In the Pit these four lads are the Barksdale organisation.

In Burrell’s office Daniels is meeting with Valchek, Foerstor and Burrell about Prez’s actions at the towers in the previous episode. Daniels wisely wants to have Prez placed on administrative duty; he can’t call for full suspension because Valchek is Prez’s father-in-law, as Prez is clearly and impulsive problem case. Valchek is against this but Burrells hands the decision to Major Bobby Reed who agrees with Daniels. Burrell then talks to Daniels with only Valchek present, wishing to know if Daniels authorised the presence of Herc, Prez and Carver in the towers. Daniels makes it clear he knows this is a loaded question and asks if Burrell really wants an answer. The silence that comes back in reply is answer enough and Daniels falsely admits that he sent them out there, which pleases Valchek and he provides some additional support to the detail in the form of unmarked surveillance vans and potential manpower. Daniels once demonstrates that he understands how the system works and shows that he’s willing to play ball for the big dogs. After Valchek leaves Burrell goes on to explain that Valchek is considered a necessary evil and Daniels attempts to use his suction in order to swing more resources. Burrell just lets him know all that’s needed is a few weeks of street work and Daniels will be fine. There is no need for a big win, Burrell will be happy with enough to make Phelan shut up.

While Rawls and Bunk are giving a press conference about William Gant, attempting to deflect any frenzy about the shooting of a State witness, McNulty watches them on the TV and exclaims his disgust at Bunk’s actions. Kima on the other hand defends Bunk’s as doing the right thing considering the situation and they walk over to the photo board. Avon’s picture is still noticeably absent from the gallery, demonstrating just how far removed he is from the street. So he sends Polk and Mahone out to try and find a photo in the housing department. They’re not keen to do anything other than sit on their backsides and read newspapers, but McNulty tells them they either get that photo or they do all the review work on the ten homicide cases. So they choose the easier option and go polariod hunting.

Down in the pit there’s a problem, they’re out of the good stuff so Bodie and Wallace are killing time playing checkers with chess pieces. Dee is bemused why they’re playing checkers when they have chess pieces and quickly cottons onto the fact that it’s because they don’t know how to play chess. He starts to teach them and while Bodie isn’t too keen, Wallace is interested to learn, so Dee explains the game in terms that the lads will understand. Linking the pieces to real life examples from the drug organisation; Avon as the king, Stringer as the queen etc. Bodie quickly fixates on the way that pawns can get promoted when they reach the opposing back rank and he associates this with himself; while he’s got no delusions of grandeur as he knows he’s a pawn but he’s keen to go places and get promoted.

Sydnor arrives in the detail with nagras to use in surveillance; this isn’t the first time that the poor state of equipment in the department has been noted. Sydnor isn’t keen to use this gear because it’s so bulky he’ll get made no problem. In a brief cut we see Santangelo in Rawls’s office asking to be returned to homicide but Rawls wants to keep him there in order to watch McNulty. Then the action moves back to following Daniels as he arrives in the basement, McNulty and Kima are busy typing while Freamon is making his dollhouse furniture and listening to jazz. Daniels informs Kima that she has Carver and Prez back (Herc is off due to injury) but Prez is confined to office work. McNulty speculates about what it’ll take to get thrown off the police force and Kima quips that he’ll find out if he carries on the way he does. Polk and Mahone arrive back with a picture of a middle aged Caucasian taken from his file. This prompts Kima to review just how little they know about Avon, he’s pretty much kept himself off the radar for everything. He doesn’t stick with one girlfriend, he’s avoided any trouble with the law, he works out, he used to box golden gloves and that’s just about it. Freamon asks Kima where she found out about the golden gloves and then leaves onto the streets. He arrives outside a boxing club and heads on up to talk with Mack the coach there.

Kima and McNulty meet with Agent Fitz to try and get more information on Avon, but Fitz reveals that he doesn’t know anything about the man before showing them footage of the final FBI bust (the same one he was working on in ‘The Target’). But that’s it for the FBI; they’re moving onto counter-terrorism now. McNulty requests some decent equipment from Fitz and when McNulty tells him who’s in charge of the case Fitz hesitates for a moment before carrying on. Kima and McNulty notice this but do not push any further.

It’s raining in the Pit when the new red-tops arrive and Bodie has the addicts line up for their stuff, but he’s being watched from a van by three men. They notice one of Dee’s lads head over to a house and the one with the scar speaks, this man is called Omar Little and we’ll learn more about him later. The three of them identify that the third house is where the stash is located and comment on how sloppy the operation is.

Bubbles is meeting with McNulty and Kima in the basement, they’re discussing McNulty’s custody issues. Bubs observes that McNulty must have cheated on her if she’s giving him that much hassle. McNulty concurs and muses why Bubs is so observant and intelligent if he lives the life he does. Bubs doesn’t have an answer himself. After McNulty inquires about Kima’s home life Bubs crudely begins to reveal that Kima is a lesbian, McNulty shows a lot of tolerance towards this and the pair of them settle that it doesn’t really make a difference.

Dee meets up with Stringer in Orlando’s (passing by Shardene on the way in) to hand in the days takings. He’s taken a lot of cash considering that he’s located in the low-rises and it’s noted. But Dee’s a little concerned about getting some new product; Stringer lays it on the line and reveals that the new stuff is the old stuff, just in new packaging. Dee notes that the current lot of heroin is very weak, but Stringer shrugs and says that they’ll just shift more; addicts will take whatever they need to get their high before handing him a bonus. On the way out Dee sits down with Shardene and buys her a drink before talking a little.

In the basement Kima is preparing to head out in the van when Freamon returns with a poster of Avon from his boxing days. He hands it over and heads off without saying a word before Sydnor walks in dressed ready to go out undercover. Bubbs is asked to provide his expert opinion on Sydnor’s disguise and he notes a few things that should be changed, especially the shoes. The soles of Sydnor’s shoes, while dirty, are too intact to look realistic, when walking around the projects you walk on what Bubbs calls ‘dead soldiers’ the discarded heroin vials and they cut up the soles.

A rough looking Sydnor heads out into the Pit with Bubbs and Kima gets some good shots of the hand outs, but it’s clear that the people out in the Pit, especially those who handle the product, are unimportant. As Kima leaves Omar and his boys are still watching the Pit. And back at the basement Kima, Sydnor and McNulty are sat around when Daniels returns from upstairs. They’ve got almost nothing, but the upstairs brass wants to make this disappear so they’d be content with just a few low level busts and some product on the table. Once these arrests have happened it’s all over, McNulty has had enough at this and walks out.

He arrives at Rhonda’s place to ask her how to clone a beeper. Hopefully you’ve noticed by now that Dee and the others all use pagers, antiquated technology for the time. He can get one cloned if he has probable cause, they’ve exhausted all other options and a supervisor signs off on it. This is also the first moment where we find out that Rhonda and McNulty know each other more than they’ve indicated. In all the professional encounters they’ve hardly spoken but it’s now revealed that she’s the woman who McNulty was cheating on his wife with (or at least one of them). The sex that follows highlights just how long they’ve been at it; they’re almost synchronised and routine in their sounds.

In the Pit Dee and Bodie are still waiting on the re-up and Dee heads off for food when Stinkum arrives with the gear. Suddenly the stash is hit by Omar and his boys and after shooting one of the guards in the leg they get the stuff hidden under the sink. But one of the stick up crew (Brandon) screws up and calls Omar by his name just before they withdraw. Poot pukes from the fear and Omar makes his get away by the time Dee returns. Bubbs sees the whole thing.

The following morning Daniels is briefing the detail in preparation to hit the stashes. McNulty is clearly being insubordinate by not suiting up in his Kevlar and Daniels takes him into his office. Daniels is once again very angry at McNulty and demands that he write this up as a sick day. McNulty refuses to play ball and walks out. As the rest of the detail role out Herc turns up and is allowed to join in despite being on medical. Prez is the only one left back at the office.

In the Pit Wee-bey is dressing down Dee for failing to be around when the stash was hit, while there’s little he could have done he’s still torn into for not being there. The only information Bodie and Dee can give Wee-bey is Omar’s name and a white van. Then the police arrive and hit the wrong door as Bodie switched up the location of the stash yesterday. Bodie hits Mahone during the arrest and Carver starts beating him down for it before Kima and others run over and join in (to make an example of Bodie) Freamon examines the now empty stash house and finds a number written on the wall with a D next to it. Outside the reporters offer to film whatever was pulled, but as Kima notes they “ain’t got s**t.”

McNulty meets up with Fitz in a car park and Fitz drops the bomb about Daniels, as his hesitation before suggested, there’s something wrong with Daniels, he’s dirty. The B.P.D. went to the FBI about Daniels in the previous year. It turns out that Daniels has more cash than he should have and Burrell did nothing about it…

The Themes:

Many themes continue from the previous two episodes.

“There ain’t any real good guys” – Daniels has been portrayed so far as a straight laced by the book cop who’s willing to do what’s right for his men. But now we find out that there’s more to him than just this, at this point the only decent cops we’ve seen who remain mostly straight are Kima, Bunk and Sydnor. Just about everyone else is political, lazy, insubordinate or possibly corrupt.

“The easy way out” – While it’s been clear from that get go that the Baltimore P.D. is only interested in an easy win here; this is the first major indication of how much they want that. Hitting the Pit was a huge error on their part. The place contains no high ranked members of the Barksdale organisation and it was even more unwise to strike the day after a C.I. informs them that the stash has been hit. How anyone could have expected to locate anything once the Barksdale organisation has been hit is a real question.

The Catchphrase Count:
“What the f**k did I do?” x3

The Review:

This episode is mostly a Pit orientated episode, which is to be expected considering the name. On the whole less punchy events happen in it when compared to either of the previous episodes, but there are some great moments still. The chess discussion is a just a fantastic example of subject based teaching and a superb analogy for the drug organisational structure. Likewise the dead soldiers moment with Bubbs is also a classic, Andre Royo is such a superb character actor that it’s impossible to see the Harvard graduate underneath the junkie he’s playing and the repeat of McNulty’s sentiments by Dee are also great, Larry Gillard Jr. is such an excellent actor and his portrayal of Dee is just fantastic, it’s a real question mark why he hasn’t been given something bigger in TV land yet.

Development-wise this episode is a huge set back for the Police Department; they still don’t appreciate just who they’re dealing with here. The assumption from the brass is that the Barksdales are just some punk dealers who’ll cave quickly and are nothing to roll up. But it’s clear that this is not the case, when you’ve got a kingpin who’s that far removed from anything it’s plain that you’re dealing with a highly effective business that’s built on the principles of trying to avoid attention. It’s quite likely that if Dee hadn’t shot the man in the lobby and thus garnered McNulty’s and Phelan’s attention the B.P.D. would still be completely oblivious to it all.

Of course, this is effectively the third chapter of the story and it’s still building up, there’s no sign of the titular wire, the police are still fumbling about and making assumptions. In fact there’s not a lot of evidence to reveal just how great the show becomes when it gets rolling. So I can see why people struggle to get past here, it’s all to easy to incorrectly judge the show at this point and assume it’s following the same rules as every other ordinary show. But when you look at it in the context of a novel a very different beast rears its head. This is the stage where the protagonists fail to understand exactly what they’re dealing with and rush in half cocked.

Over the next few episodes they’ll need to get their heads properly into the game, otherwise there’s no chance they’ll even get close to a sniff of Avon and Stringer.

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Today I'm going to unashamedly plug another of Stephen Fry's projects, this time it's 'Last Chance to See' located here on the web itself. The original 'Last Chance to See' was a radio show that had writer Douglas Adams travelling with Mark Carwardine to look at rare and endangered animals. Stephen, who was a close friend of Adams before his heart attack, has decided to take up his legacy and revisit the locations and animals.

There's plenty more on the site, I can't really do it justice myself.

Stephen's video blogs are here.
Mark's are here.
Some history behind the project is here.

And I'll leave the rest for you to discover by yourself, videos are being added to the site literally as they're uploaded from location.

Share and enjoy, share and enjoy.
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Life:
I'm really sorry to do this, I am. But Life is being bumped down into the week that was feature instead of getting it's own episode review because I'm tired with the lack of consistency. After last week's brilliant Standford Prison Experiment episode this week's was pretty average, and while average for some shows is still miles above the rest Life is not one of those shows. The problem is, I like the show, but this is not Life as I know it. If they'd just pull things together and get back to the great and compelling moments of the latter part of the first season then things would be forgiven. But it's had too many duffers so far with only two episodes that were good.

Dexter:
Likewise Dexter has been bumped down to here, in part because my personal schedule is utterly overwhelmed with other things and something had to give. And in part because this season hasn't been very inspiring compared to the previous two seasons. Last Sunday's episode wasn't bad, but it also wasn't really good either. It seems the show is a little rudderless right now having shot it's bolt in the previous seasons with the loss of two really good antagonists (B & D).

Family Guy:
"Das Poop!"
I never like the "Road to _____" series it's a set of stories that Seth and Co seem very fond of but I find to be rather boring overall. Fortunately this one is pretty good, the Little Shop of Horrors skit was great, as was the Back to the Future skateboard scene, the Top Gun references, the awesome Flash Gordon moment with Brian Blessed and the Indiana Jones snow raft moment. It was all very silly and a lot of fun.

American Dad:
In contrast, American Dad was. Eh, not so interesting. Stan's juggling work and home life again, which is a little... meh considering the potential subject matter. You have to wonder how a show about a fat overweight American can result in an epic romp around wartime Germany while it's sister show about a powerful CIA man instead spends it's time rowing back and forth across a lake to a fat girl. Below average for the show, nothing really that funny contained within it.

Heroes:
Utterly stupid, utterly fun. But it was a real shame they decided to kill off Adam Monroe, he was one of the better characters in the show and definitely the best thing that happened last season (that wasn't retconned this season). At least they've finally neutered stupid Peter, man I'm tired of his special blend of poor acting and plain stupidity of character. Sadly it seems the writers have decided to infect almost every other character in the show with an lowered intelligence. But as long as it remains fun, I'll watch this season.

Also how did I miss the Hare & the Tortoise reference with regards to Parkman and Daphne?

How I Met Your Mother:
After a brilliantly leaked fake out set of pictures last week the crew at HIMYM had a lot of people thinking that we were going to see a happy ending. But as the episode unfolds, no. It was a great little episode with some fantastic moments, more sentimental than funny mind you.
But, I'm thinking the show has just one or two more seasons in it after this one through, it shouldn't be dragged out.

Boston Legal:
"Have you no shame what so ever?"
"None!"
We have a solid episode of Boston Legal this week, to be honest there's nothing we haven't seen before. But there are slight inklings of how the show is going to end creeping in here. Denny and Alan's antics have consequences at long last, the firms reputation is suffering and Shirley is less than impressed with them both. There was plenty for everyone to do, except Carl and Katie who were somewhat sidelined, it does seem that David struggles to write for an ensemble style show. His next project should try focusing on only a couple of core characters and then have reoccuring guest stars that fit the situation when needed. Funnily enough this might be what his next project is...

Did I mention how much I love Tara Summers as Katie? Yes? Did I mention it this week? Well I have now.

The Shield:
This episode was the best thing that has been on TV since the fall season started, more here.

The Office:
I'm really, really enjoying seeing Michael and Holly together. The stuff he says is so cringe-worthy that you think it's all going to blow up but then Holly talks and you realise that they're very much in sync. The auction was also good, with some great moments but I think my favourite moments was the lot "leave now and have a drink with us" and the moment when Dwight realised that his cruelty towards Phyllis was unwarranted and he attempted to make up for it by bidding heavily on a hug with her - each time passing the previous bid by a penny. The other great moment was Jim meeting up with Roy again and nearly developing the same level of possessiveness and paranoia as he had by rushing off to New York to see Pam without warning. But instead of causing some scene he comes to his senses and turns back.

My Name is Earl:
Another episode with Earl attempting to make amends with Randy, this time by getting him a car for his birthday, except it gets stolen and Earl is forced to talk to the police instead of just getting drunk and inflicting violence and property damage onto the culprits (as he did before he got his list). Pretty standard fare for the show, it does feel like it's in a bit of a rut right now. Very formulaic.

Supernatural:
While this week's episode couldn't hold a candle to last week's utterly amazing black and white B Movie monster homage this week did have some pretty superb moments. With Dean acting up after being infected with a 'ghost sickness' - the actual threat of some ghostly illness was pretty laughable. But the episode itself was great, Dean was acting up like a prize coward and you could see that Jensen Ackles was relishing the chance to break character. The episode also packed a couple of strong moments when Dean's fears about Sam resulted in a hallucination where Sam displayed the powers of old yellow eyes. But the real sting was right at the end, where a now cured Dean saw a flash of yellow in Sam's eyes. Sam has vowed off using his powers, but that's not a good sign.

Also, the scene after the credits was amazing and hilarious at the same time, you don't even need to watch the show to enjoy this one so here it is:


On the DVD front I gave up attempting to recover my Green Wing DVDs and picked up the complete collection instead (review coming soon), the phone call to my father was interesting. I started off asking about my DVDs and he flat denied having them, claiming he'd returned them to me a while back. Seeing how I keep my DVDs in order and always have them on the shelf if I'm not watching them, I know he was mistaken. But he was pretty pleased when I told him he could keep them. If I didn't know better, I'd suspect he was trying to borrow them indefinitely anyway.

I also picked up the 15 disc "Almost everything ever in one gloriously fabulous ludicrously definitive outrageously luxurious Monty Python boxset" and the first two series of Rob Brydon's "Marion & Geoff"
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There's masses of swearing in almost all of the reviews this week. True last week's episode had the word "Bitches" in every single title, but heck that's because of the episode's name. All the swearing this week is because the episode is completely, utterly, ball-busting, life changing and brilliant.

Alan's review is here. The inevitable "Wire/Shield" comparisons start creeping up and some commenters seem bemused as to why the comparison is ever broached. Well it's not because they're creatively in the same plane. They're not, The Wire is a masterpiece of characterisation and writing, but The Shield knows exactly how to grab you right where it hurts, turn you upside down and shake until you pass out from the pain. Ultimately they're both masterpieces, there is just a massive difference in the depth and style between the shows. (I'm pretty sure if they weren't both cop shows with grey morals we wouldn't get the comparisons.)

Capone's is located here over on Ain't it Cool. I'm guessing he enjoyed the episode, a lot.

There's some speculation about a second copy of The Strike Team Sin files in the comments over at Premium Hollywood. Myself I'm just wondering what the non-premium part of Hollywood looks like.

Some rather NSFW language over at geeky talk, but I'm not surprised. The episode is one of those that can only really be expressed with such words. It was hard for me to not write "F**k me, best episode I've seen all fall season." Oh, look. I did anyway...

Jason Pinter missed the chance to recap last weeks episode, but he's bang up to date with this week's on his blog. He also adds in a few thoughts about Bitches Brew at the end of the post.

It seems Jonathan Toomey enjoyed the show as much as a hot, spicy Mexican meal over at TV Squad. It's a fitting analogy for the way the episode leaves you feeling after watching it.

Tom R's recap is short, but on target and has an interesting thought about the alternate spelling of Parricide as Parracide (Parasite, get it?)

Last of all is the imdb synopsis. As always it's long and detailed. If there was anything you're unsure of about the episode. Them there is the place to look.

5 More episodes and it's all over, what are we going to do with ourselves then?
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As I have a quiet day I'm pulling through my collection and seeing what is on my list left to get. It's a lot smaller than the one I drew up last year.

American Dad: Season 3
The A-Team: The Final Season (5)
Battlestar Galactica (2003): Seasons 2 to 4
Boston Legal: Seasons 2 & 3
Carnivale: Season 2
Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 6
The Complete Green Wing (I don't think I'm ever recovering my original set from my Father now, he seems to have latched onto them permanently)
The Complete Father Ted
Scrubs: Season 5 & 6
Sharpe - Complete
Simpsons: Season 11

And here are the Upcoming DVD releases I'm interested in (Complete with links to play.com's listings):

October
House M.D: Season 4
The 4400: Complete Collection
Oz: The Complete Collection

1st - 16th November
Monty Python's Flying Circus: Complete Series (Deluxe Edition)
Futurama: Complete Seasons 1 - 4 Collection Box Set (Repackaged version)
Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law - Season 1 Boxset
Family Guy: Season 7
Dead Set
Gavin & Stacey: Series 2

17th - 30th November
Bones: Season 3
Stephen Fry: In America (2 Discs)
Ian Rankin's Rebus

I'd also like to quickly note that The Wire: The Complete Boxset is out in Region 2 in December, sadly for us it's nowhere near as good as the upcoming Region One version. It's just the individual season DVD sets boxed up. I was planning to purchase a second version of this, but the complete R2 set doesn't seem worth it as I already have all the individual sets.

Just to be clear, I've used the play.com links due to ease of navigation, they may not have the best prices. It is worth checking amazon, zavvi, HMV, sendit and your own personal favourites before purchasing.

It always pays to shop around.
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I don't often post about news items here, I tend to leave that for the people in the blogs I read. Instead I like to concentrate on DVDs and a small selection of shows I watch. But I really can't keep quiet about this one after I read it over at Rob Buckley (mediumrob)'s site - The Medium is Not Enough - in his selection of Thursday news bites.

Larry David's fantastic comedy show has been slotted for another 10 episodes, they start filming in December and will broadcast in 2009 (most likely next October). I know the title of the show asks one to not get excited, but I am. Really I am. Season Six was fantastic. Woo.

And there I was thinking there would be almost nothing to watch next fall, how foolish of me.
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As the region two release of this DVD set is imminent I thought I'd review the region one version as that's the one I have.

I've been into some general detail about the show in the Why You Should Watch feature on it, so I'm going to talk about the specific episodes included in this set. If you want broader strokes about the show click that link.

Volume One contains, funnily enough, the first thirteen episodes that cover Harvey Birdman's early adventures/cases while working for Sebben & Sebben. Over the course of this volume Harvey deals with the problem of a wide range of classic cartoon characters in the courts of law. This volume also introduces us to many of the other core characters; including Harvey's boss Phil Ken Sebben (Falcon 7 from Birdman), Harvey's sidekick Avenger the eagle, his clerical assistant Peanut, co-worker and general philanderer Peter Potamus, nemesis X the Eliminator, Judge Hiram Mightor, Judge Mentok the Mind Taker, Attorney's Myron Reducto, Stan Freezoid, Evelyn Spyro Throckmorton and Vulturo. Oh and of course, Bear.


The episodes deal with in order:
Bannon & Quest's custody battle (Johnny Quest), Apache Chief's hot coffee incident (Super Friends), Shaggy & Scooby being busted for drugs (Scooby Doo), The Unabooboo (Yogi Bear), a case of intelectual property theft (The Neptunes), A mafia mob boss (Flintstones), Murder (Blue Falcon), X's attempts to get Birdman's crest (X, The Eliminator), skin cancer caused by over exposure to the sun's rays (Birdman is solar powered), a stuntman being sued for imitable stunts (Ernie Devilin), a very short detective suing for wrongful dismissal (Inch High Private Eye) and a case of an out of control buggy (Speed Racer).

Really there's just no way to express how enjoyable and funny this show is, poking in a good natured fashion at a lot of old classic cartoons that many adults will have watched as a child growing up. Each episode runs for about ten minutes and is packed to the feathers with gags, puns, non-sequiturs, practical jokes and low brow humour of every kind. It's a great show and the first batch of episodes are all brilliant.

Packaging:
Volume One (and indeed all of the three volumes of this set) is a fantastic little package, the external box is cardboard styled like faux leather, complete with added wear and tear to make it look more like a law book.


Isn't it lovely? Then you slide out the interior box and it's made to look like the internal pages of one of Harvey's own books.


Fold that out and you get this.


Which is absolutely choka-block filled with stuff to read. The production of this set really is just fantastic, a lot of other companies could learn from this set. It's a real tactile experience getting the DVD down off the shelf to watch, you just can't help run your fingers across the cover and read the little notes on the interior box. This is amongst the best packaging I've ever had the pleasure to own. There is a downside, because it's all constructed of cardboard it is a little more prone to damage/wear and tear on the corners. Mine is already dinged.

Extras:
First of all, I have to give big props to the main menu; it's not the most exciting thing to look at, but it more than makes up for it's looks with the music. They've put the full length version of Wesley Wills's song "Birdman kicked my ass" playing over the top of it, it's fantastic that the main menu has something like this. Too many menus are half assed attemptes with broken animation/music loops loops that have just part of the theme song playing on them.

As for Extras, there are a decent amount of them on here, let's have a list:

• Deleted Scenes from Deadomutt and Trio's Company
• Live Action version of the opening credits
• Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law Movie Trailer
• Casting What Ifs? Stephen Colbert and Todd Barry as Harvey
• Pencil Test and Final Animation Comparison on Shaggy Busted
• Tab Can Redux, with lyrics
• The Wind Beneath his Wings
• Commentaries for: Very Personal Injury, The Dabba Don, SPF, The Devilin Made Me Do It (2 versions), Trio's Company

Price:
The Region 2 version will apparently retail for £19.99 in the UK with a run time of 154 mins plus extras. It's a hefty 13 ppm, which is far from the best ratio I've reviewed so far. A price of around £10 would be a better one to pay, so you might want to wait for it to drop a little before buying.

Details:
Runtime: 154 mins
Region: 0 (Yes, that's right. Volume One is region free!)
Sound: Dolby Surround 2.0
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish


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Parricide:

1. The murdering of one's father, mother, or other near relative.
2. One who commits such a murder.

Parracide:

1. The latest episode of The Shield.
   

That mild dig aside (mostly made so that I'd have both spellings in this post for the search engines) let's push on and look at this weeks episode of The Shield. Something I have no hesitation now in calling "The Best Thing On TV Right Now", in this season of rather lackluster shows and below average performances from drama across the board The Shield stands mighty and tall with it's broken bronze badge and brutality charges.

Read about motorbikes, the priesthood and confessions beyond the link...

As I thought last week Shane decided to try and pull the one-two on Ronnie and Vic at the same time, unfortunately his choice of Two Man as the shooter for Ronnie was not the best one. Two Man botches the job, and Ronnie phones Vic before he enters his own home - where Shane was waiting for him - so neither of the two men get killed. This pretty much triggers the avalanche for the rest of the episode, cause and effect runs away and we just get a simply amazing episode.

Shane scrambles with Julien in an attempt to find Two Man and put him down before he gets caught and Shane's actions come out. They search his hang outs and come up with nothing before Two Man is caught by a rookie on the street. This is bad news for Shane and by extension bad news for Vic and Ronnie, their beef has been kept private between the three of them until now, if Two Man breaks the wrong way then it'll all start to bubble up - and it stinks. But right at this moment Vic and Ronnie aren't entirely convinced Shane is behind the hit, it could just be retaliation over Ronnie's beating of Two Man last week.

Shane and Vic's attempts to get put in the interview room fail. Dutch and Billings are given the job, this forces Shane to make a desperate play, entering the interview room, disabling the camera and asking Two Man where the gun is so he can hide it. Two Man eventually agrees to trust him, but not before Claudette notices that Shane is in there - he gives her a lousy excuse and leaves. Recovering the gun from it's hiding place and ensuring that Two Man will be able to walk.

But, Dutch, Billings, Claudette and Vic all have other ideas and decide to lie to Two Man; telling him they found the gun. Two Man is hard and reasonably smart, he doesn't crack on this one. So Vic suggests that they crack him by telling him that they have witnesses - after a moment this proves to be enough and on camera Two Man begins to confess, while Shane makes himself scarce. Once again The Shield bucks conventions by having things fall apart a lot earlier than expected, Shane confessed early in season six and now he's on the run early in season seven. I adore the way the writers mix things up like this, giving us massive moments before the final episode.

Mara meets up with Corrine at her house and tells her everything, delivering the ultimate that if Vic and Ronnie don't help provide them with information on the manhunt Shane will confess to everything. She tells Corrine that Vic shot Terry and robbed the Armenian money train before leaving. Corrine goes to talk to Vic at the station and tells him that she will help him, but it'll cost him his family. She'll back him up this one last time but he'll never see them again, Vic's lost his family as a result of his actions.

Shortly after that Vic packs in his badge as it's the only way he can go after Shane, he knows that eventually Shane will get caught and confess to everything. When that happens it's all over for him and Ronnie, Ronnie will spend the rest of his life in prison and Vic will be executed. So it seems that the plan is to make Shane disappear for good. Of course if he kills Shane he'll be the number one suspect in all of this and he'll also have to kill Mara (who is pregnant) and maybe even Shane's boy. He's in an unthinkable situation now and that's assuming that Shane hasn't kept a copy of everything his 'everything we did' file - something he told Mara he did do.

Now there was other stuff happening with ICE, Olivia, the blackmail box, Pezula, a guest appearance by Silas Weir Mitchellas a priest and Acevada. But it was pretty much nothing behind the twin thunder shocks of Two Man's confession forcing Shane to run and Vic throwing in his badge to go after him. Which in some ways is a shame, Silas was very good in his role but it's hard to take the side stories seriously when everything is crashing around them.

Also, anyone else notice that no-one seemed to notice that Danny has left at this point, admittedly events were crashing about while this happened, someone shooting at a cop tends to get the entire department focused externally and rushing about. But is that it for Danny? Surely she gets something more than just packing boxes in her house as a final scene...

Regardless, Parricide was a breathtaking piece of entertainment that still has me pumped and excited with the way it suddenly twisted near the end of the episode. Things are almost unthinkable now, it doesn't look like this is going to end well for anyone...

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First of all, before I push on I'd like to mention (in a related matter) I had a wonderful message from twitter this week. The main of it was "Stephen Fry is now following your updates on Twitter." Now I know that the man himself follows around seven thousand people and I'm just one amongst the masses, but it was nice that he returned my decision to follow him as there was no obligation to do so at all. Needless to say, his tweets are infinitely more interesting than my own. It made my day.

Onto the episode, where Stephen travels through the deep south, visiting the Arlington cemetery in Virginia, a Coal mine in West Virginia, Race Horses and Bourbon in Kentucky, a body farm at Knoxville university in Tennessee, Air ballooning in North Carolina, he experiences Gullah in South Carolina, Thanksgiving in Georgia, some kind of concrete hell in Florida and an American football match in Alabama.

Much like last week there's only so much room in an hour so some states get a far more detailed treatment than others. We get a few shots of the thought provoking ceremony at Arlington and a few more of the cemetery itself before Stephen heads off to find the Mason-Dixon Line. Again during this, I'm amazed as just how beautiful America is during the travelling shots, admittedly autumn is a season that can make even the biggest s**thole look beautiful, but the rolling hills of America are certainly as far from a s**thole as they could possibly be.

In West Virginia Stephen explores an absolutely massive mine, some ten square miles in size, and we get a glimpse into the lives of people who risk everything to bring us one of the foundation resources of our current society - coal. In Kentucky we get to see race horses and of course bourbon whiskey, two of the three things the state is famous for, it seems Stephen samples a little too much of the drink, but who can blame him for that?

In Tennessee we have the most thought provoking and disturbing moments of the episode, first of all we're entertained by the wonderful tones of bluegrass music and then in Knoxville Stephen visits a body farm. Now I've seen plenty of death both in my life and on television, but this section remained the most unsettling part of the show by a huge margin. While it's all part of a noble pursuit that helps capture criminals and identify the deceased it's still a grim sight. While a fully exposed skeleton laying in the dirt isn't too hard to stomach it's a little tougher when you're looking at ant covered feet under a black plastic tarpaulin and realising that they're not some actor or fake prosthetic. Likewise with a hugely decomposed torso in a plastic bin. While it's understandable that places like this exist, it's not something I care to dwell on for too long. Life is too short to get upset about death.

Next we skip through North Carolina with the sight of a black bear up a tree and then a balloon ride that skims the treetops close enough to collect leaves before moving onto South Carolina where Stephen (and the viewers) learn about Gullah, which is a culture based on a mixture of the African cultures that came over during the times of slavery. The lady he talks to shows a great deal of wisdom and tolerance during her conversation with him, a sign of how times change but history should not be forgotten.

Stephen then spends thanksgiving with a wonderful family in Georgia, charming them in his almost effortless manner and (attempting) some horse riding. Stephen's charms do not extend to those of the equine persuasion and the horse acts up slightly, surprising the family somewhat. He then travels on to Florida and experiences Miami and Miami Beach, a pair of cities that comes across as a form of concrete hell to him. Lacking soul and beauty in it's artificial nature, I especially enjoyed his wise and accurate remarks about the ugliness of the beautiful located there.

After a trip through the Everglades Stephen travels back up north into Alabama and experiences the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles before watching the spectacle that is a college American football match. A dizzying mix of sights, actions and sounds that was capped with planes travelling low overheard at the climax. Stephen's face was much like my own when I experienced a similar thing out there, it's amazing the sheer showcase that happens in something that's really just a match between university teams. The level of enthusiasm, grandeur and overall silliness of it is just breathtaking. You feel simultaneously amazed and bemused by it all.

Despite having travelled through several of these States myself I enjoyed the first episode more than this one, there are moments that will not be easily forgotten but nothing that quite moved me as much as the beautiful architecture located in the New York cabin and Rhode Island. Still, it is a documentary that was filled with wonderful shots, conversations and just a great experience. Stephen both educates and entertains at the same time. Brilliant stuff.
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Teleplay by: David Simon

Story by: David Simon & Edward Burns

Directed by: Clark Johnson

Starring:

With:

The Recap:

The episode opens in Baltimore county morgue; McNulty and Bunk are discussing Bunk’s latest case. One William Gant, found dead on the streets of Baltimore at the end of the previous episode. Mr. Gant was a simple man who had little to show for his life, no family, no kids, he hadn’t done anything of note except testifying in court during D’Angelo Barksdale’s trial and now he’s on a slab in the morgue. There’s little evidence as to who’s killed the man, McNulty theorizes that it’s to send a message to anyone else who might think about speaking up against the Barksdales but Bunk isn’t keen to do so and warns McNulty that acting this way will have consequences.

It’s worth noting that the mortician in this scene is none other than Eric Dellums who previously portrayed Luthor Mahoney on Homicide: Life on the Street. This is not the first instance where this has happened in The Wire. Director Clark Johnson starred in the series as Detective Meldrick Lewis and Judge Phelan (Peter Gerety) played Stuart Gharty, it also won’t be the last time either.

After the credits have finished rolling the action moves to city hall where the detail are moving into their new headquarters, now a more traditional cop show would have had a bunch of sharp, attractive looking suits meet in an air conditioned meeting room that’s brightly lit and filled with state of the art technology. The Wire instead provides the members of the detail with a dingy basement that’s in ill repair which shows just how much the city and the police department cares about this job they’ve been assigned. Santangelo punctuates all their feelings by hanging up the ringing phone and exclaiming that the call was for McNulty. McNulty is the reason they’re all stuck in this basement for the duration and as such he’s got no easy friends down there.

McNulty himself is in Judge Phelan’s office complaining about the situation he put himself in. Phelan has no real sympathy for him, which is hardly surprising as McNulty put himself into this by mouthing off when he should have played dumb. So instead McNulty attempts to manipulate the situation by getting a change in personnel or a commitment from the department for the detail.

In the basement the detail are busy trying to clean the place up the best they can, when McNulty arrives to talk to Daniels. Daniels shows his displeasure and gears up to tear a strip off McNulty when they’re interrupted by a loud bang. It turns out that one of the new members of the detail – one Office Pryzbylewski (Prez) previously from Casualty section – has just discharged his firearm into the wall while demonstrating how sensitive his trigger is. While he has remembered to remove the clip he forgot about the bullet already in the chamber. It’s a light-hearted scene with a serious message about Prez; he’s a goof who doesn’t think things through before doing them.

Down in the Pit the boys are hanging out and eating some chicken nuggets, their conversation about the invention of the nugget shows some real intelligence amongst them. It’s a shrewd discussion about the truth behind innovation in a corporate society as Dee brings the truth home for Wallace and Poot. These boys are not a bunch of mindless thugs; they’re smart lads with drive and ability.

Daniels meets with Rhonda about the men he’s been assigned and discovers just how bad a seed Prez actually is. It turns out that he shot up his own car and attempted to cover up the truth. Only coming clean when ballistics matched the bullets to his off duty revolver, naturally Daniels is curious why Prez is still on the force after pulling a stunt like that but Rhonda doesn’t know why. Daniels then goes on to explain just how poor his team is and asks if Rhonda can help him out, he’s stuck with the dead wood and he can’t do anything about it. It’s a message from the Deputy to just get the job done, provide results and shut Phelan up, there’s no room for good police work, as it’s a case driven by political clout. Rhonda is unwilling to help clear out the problem cases and tells him to just “make lemonade.”

On a roof in the projects Kima, Hauk and Carver set up to take some mug shots of the various members in the Barksdale organization with the help of Bubbles. Hauk and Carver both screw around and show little interest in working on the job properly and it’s only Kima – who is one of the few handpicked by Daniels – who actually gets on with the job. Bubbles chats with Wee-Bey and his boys down in the street with a pitch about selling hats while Kima photographs them.

In the Pit McNulty and Bunk roll in to hassle Dee on the sofa, the boys are naturally defensive and hostile towards the cops. Bodie in particular is very cautious and refuses to provide them with even the smallest amount of detail, all he’s willing to say is that Gant got what was coming to him because that’s the game before leaving. Dee on the other hand is detained, which causes activity around Wee-Bey and gets him moving. Kima follows them leaving Carver to take over photographing. When Dee attempts to walk away from the questioning Bunk and McNulty search him, finding nothing apart from a pager, and then take him down the station when Wee-Bey, Stringer and company turn up after being contacted about what’s happening in the Pit. Kima sees McNulty and Bunk take Dee away and calls Daniels about it.
Daniels meanwhile is attempting to understand why Prez has been dumped on him and possibly get rid of him, but it turns out that Prez is Valchek’s son-in-law, and Valchek is a man with serious pull in the police department. Poke and Mahone are a pair of drunks and Lester Freamon is a man with no edges. But he does manage to score a small victory in the conversation, getting Sydnor who is both the right skin colour for surveillance and is also a good cop. He then heads into a meeting with Deputy Op Burrell, Major Rawls and Major Foerstor. Phelan has been complaining about Gant’s death and it is clear that McNulty is the source of the information; Rawls has had enough of his antics and attempts to wash his hands of him. But they’re stuck with the man because of the pull he has with Judge Phelan and they can’t afford a media leak.

Bunk and McNulty have Dee in the interrogation box but little else on him, they recognize that he’s a lot softer than most dealers and decide to work that angle, but an angry Daniels arrives with Kima in tow. Lance Reddick manages to seethe with barely controlled anger in this scene; he provides a real cool exterior that appears to be just in place but burns with an intensity that belays his demeanor. In interview room two Daniels lays down the law with McNulty and lets him know just how precarious his situation is. McNulty on the other hand shows his hand, revealing that he’d fall in line if Daniels decides to do the case properly, or at least in a manner which McNulty thinks is properly. Daniels leaves after this exchange, but not before telling McNulty that Kima will be present for the interview. McNulty hands over the plates for Wee-Bey and Stringer’s trucks to Kima but she demonstrates her competence, revealing that she already has those plates and she did it without even them spotting her.

McNulty and Bunk proceed to break Dee down by playing up Gant’s position in society, turning him from a single working man into a church deacon with a family. Wearing him down with their words while his pager goes off, and Dee’s still soft enough that this gets to him and he starts writing an apology letter to the man’s family. Dee’s not just some stereotypical, angry young punk who shoots a man and doesn’t think twice about it. He’s a smart, caring lad who’s been born into this life and that’s his lot. McNulty also voices a poignant opinion during this interview, asking why the selling of drugs has to break down into violence, everything else in America is sold without guns being involved but drugs always have to include them. The point being that really there’s no need for guns to be involved and the only reason they are involved is because once one person starts using them everyone else has to. He then recounts the true story of a young boy who was killed in a barbershop by a stray bullet and that breaks Dee and he comes close to a kind of confession.

But while Dee starts writing the letter Maurice Levy arrives and shuts the entire thing down. Maurice was present in ‘The Target’ as Dee’s defense lawyer but had very little to do because the witnesses had already been intimidated and Nakeisha recanted her testimony. Here he reveals that he’s a bit more than just a defense lawyer, as while he ushers Dee out of the police station he berates him and even hits him across the head while exclaiming “How many times do I have to tell you people the same f**king thing?” This piece of physical aggression combined with the racial connotations of his words show he’s an important feature in the Barksdale organization. He’s not just brought out for special occasions; he’s used a lot by them.

Back in the basement the detail’s first briefing is held, there’s a clear lack of interest from the team, Sydnor is watching Lester carve dollhouse furniture, Polk wanders in late from the john and the entire meeting is occasionally interrupted by workmen. Mahone and Polk both show where their loyalties and interests lie, the only questions they have in the briefing are one from Mahone’s about overtime and Polk’s more direct “A case goes from red to black by way of green”, while this is a comment about how important funding is for a successful investigation (that highlights again how unimportant this case is for the department), it also reveals exactly what Polk cares about here. The scene is very heavy in exposition, but it’s broken up with the workmen shouting to each other and the clear lack of interest from many members of the detail.

Daniels then meets with McNulty and Greggs over Dee’s letter, McNulty wants to use the letter to angle a real case with decent police working it. But Daniels just wants to do the job required and get out.

Dee heads down to meet up with his Uncle Avon who’s volunteering at a church hall. He’s brought along his son and girlfriend, Avon and Stringer both show their appreciation of the young lass and Stringer takes her off for some food while Dee and Avon talk.

Bubbles has arrived at the basement and is working with Kima to identify the people photographed the previous day. The reason behind the hats is now explained to McNulty and the viewer, Bubbles used the hats to identify the importance of the individual and signal they should be snapped. Anyone handed a red hat is a major player, anyone with any other hat is in the mix and anyone who doesn’t get a hat is just a solider. It’s based on the actions of the real life Bubbles, who pulled the same stunt to help out surveillance. There’s no charge for pulling this job, it’s all because Johnny got a whipping from Bodie, Poot and Wallace in the previous episode. If they hadn’t hospitalized the man then it’s probable that Bubbles might not have helped with this.

On the stairs in the church Dee reveals to Avon that the police seem to know a lot about the Barksdale organization while Avon attempts to school and harden his nephew. Avon lays down the line for Dee and lets him know that whatever happened to Gant, it’s none of his business.

Out on the streets Hauk, Carver and Prez are shooting a few beers while talking. These three together means nothing but trouble, Hauk and Carver are sloppy policemen at best and borderline thugs at worst while Prez has no impulse control. Sure enough they’re already impatient with the direction the detail is taking and when Hauk suggests going in balls out Prez is quick to agree, Carver takes a little longer but also goes along with them. They soon arrive at one of the towers and shake down a couple of residents who happened to be out there, they are very aggressive and when a young lad defies Prez by leaning on his car he gets pistol whipped. This proves to be the spark that ignites and next thing people start throwing bottles, electrical equipment down at them and even open fire on them. All of a sudden they’re three men alone without support facing an unseen group of assailants. Hauk is hit by breaking glass and they’re forced to hide out under Prez’s car.

The following morning McNulty is awoken in his hotel room (which is actually Dominic West’s hotel room from filming) by Bunk and told to look at the newspaper. Someone has leaked the shooting of Gant and now McNulty is in the skids because he’s the obvious suspect. Bunk has only one thing to say about this “You happy now, b**ch?”

Naturally Rawls is steamed over this and while shouting at Landsman he trashes the desk that he believes belongs to McNulty, but it turns out to be Crutchfield’s desk and Landsman is happy (but cautious) to point this out to Rawls. Landsman explains to Crutchfield just how badly McNulty is now screwed from this.

McNulty himself heads down to the towers to catch up with what’s happened to Prez, Hauk and Carver. Prez’s car has been torched and everything inside it ruined while Hauk has taken a mild injury to his head. Daniels dresses them down with a rather unusual reprimand considering the norm for TV, he explains to them that they need to get their story straight and provides Prez with the explanation to use when IID turn up. Hauk and Carver are sat on the end of the van with their hands in their pockets like naughty schoolboys throughout the scene. While he’s clearly angry he also realizes that he cannot afford to throw them to the lions because it will reflect badly on him and the detail.

McNulty goes to talk with Phelan about the newspaper leak, it hasn’t come from Phelan (or at least that’s what he claims) but at this point it’s too late for McNulty. He’s already managed to tar himself as a squealer and now he’s going to have to sleep in that bed.

Daniels sits down with his wife Marla and explains his decision to her over dinner. You don’t hand over your own men to IID and if he did it would reflect badly on the case. But she makes him realize that no matter what he does he’s likely to end up in the doghouse over this one. He’s stuck with an unwanted case, filled with a team that has people he either can’t trust or rely on and if anything goes wrong or not right enough then he’ll take the fall. So she tells him to get out.

McNulty on the other hand is spending his evening the way he spends most evenings, getting blind drunk and sleeping it off in his car. Life returns to normal in the towers, all Prez, Hauk and Carver have achieved is a fresh new victory for the residents and pushers who live there, along with a trophy to prove it – the burnt out car. It’s still business as usual. A bit later McNulty wakes up and interrupts an attempted car break in before slipping and landing in the mud with his badge. The irony of the situation is not lost on him and he starts laughing hysterically at how he’s both literally and figuratively in the muck.

Finally Daniels receives a phone call at home from the duty officer at University Hospital. It turns out that the lad who Prez pistol whipped is now blind in one eye…

The Themes:
Many of the themes from the previous episode are still in place here and a couple of others are highlighted, in part building on the previous episode’s events.

“Wasted Youth” – The kids in this show are consistently portrayed as being intelligent but lacking in the chances that education could offer. It takes serious intelligence and business know how to successfully operate a drug ring, but unfortunately society has dropped them off in nowhere and they end up hindering not helping. The show asks you to consider how much potential for humanity is wasted because people are born in situations where they never have a chance to develop and excel.

"It ain't about right. It's about money" - In the conversation about the Chicken McNuggets Dee brings home one of the fundamental facts of "The Wire". Everything that happens here is influenced or driven by money, both institutions - Barksdales and the B.P.D - are driven by a need to either make money or operate within budget. They're just like any other institution.

“The game is rigged” – Marla brings home the whole of this episode in her diner conversation with Daniels. He’s stuck performing an unwanted case that only exists to keep a politically powerful judge happy and he has to do it with poor equipment, little funds and a group of policemen that’s mostly humps, rejects and jerks. No matter what he does he’s likely to end up down the tubes and swimming in refuse. Marla advises him to walk away from it all before it ruins him.

The Catchphrase Count:
“What the f**k did I do?” x 2
“Happy now b**ch?” x 2

The Review:

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Starring:
Jason Bateman as Michael Bluth
Jeffrey Tambor as George Bluth Sr. / Oscar Bluth
Tony Hale as Byron "Buster" Bluth
Alia Shawkat as Mae "Maeby" Fünke
Michael Cera as George Michael Bluth
Portia de Rossi as Lindsay Bluth Fünke
David Cross as Tobias Fünke
Jessica Walter as Lucille Bluth
Will Arnett as George "Gob" Bluth II (Pronounced Jobe)
and Ron Howard as the Narrator


Now honestly I'm someone who prefers British Comedy above all other forms but there are quite a few American comedy shows that I will put my hand up and admit that I love: How I Met You Mother, That 70s Show, Friends, Seinfeld, Police Squad, My Name is Earl, The Office, Scrubs, Curb your Enthusiasm and 30 Rock but one of them stands above all the rest as the undisputed king and queen of American comedy and that's Fox's red-headed stepchild Arrested Development. A show that is so badly treated by Fox that it doesn't even have it's own official site anymore, we have shows that ended in the 1990s that still have well maintained websites but Arrested Development really is something that Fox just seem to want to sweep under the carpet and ignore.

Arrested Development is the story of a wealthy family who lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together. It ran for a total of three seasons, with fifty three episodes and it stars Jason Bateman (Hancock, Smokin' Aces, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) as Michael Bluth, the middle son of the Bluth family - a wealthy family that has made their fortune in property development. Michael is one of four children, his older brother is George Oscar Bluth/God (Will Arnett, Blades of Glory, 30 Rock, Rattatouille) an illusionist/magician and the founding member of the Magicians Alliance. His twin sister, Lindsay Bluth Fünke (Portia De Rossi, Nip/Tuck, Ally McBeal) is an activist, fund raiser and has one daughter with her husband Doctor Tobias Fünke (David Cross; The Colbert Report, Futurama, Mr Show with Bob and David). Michael's youngest brother Byron 'Buster' Bluth (Tony Hale) is best described as a helpless mother's boy, coddled by their overbearing and unpleasant mother, the undisputed matriach of the family Lucielle Bluth (Jessica Walter, 90210). The family is headed up by George Bluth (Jeffery Tambor; Hellboy II, Muppets Wizard of Oz, The Larry Sander's Show) and Michael has had one son, George Michael (Michael Cera; Superbad, ) with his now sadly desceased wife.


The family has everything they could ever want, they live a luxurious lifestyle and are used to having enough money to be able to do anything. But during the first episode of the show George Bluth Sr. is arrested for defrauding investors and spending the company's money for 'personal matters'. It is this event which starts the series and sends the family spiralling off into a world where they're struggling and unable to keep up the lifestyle they held previously.

As just about every member of the family is unpleasant, stupid, greedy and generally incompetent so the task of keeping the family together and out of trouble falls to the good son - Michael - a task that might not sound too difficult but it turns out to be just about impossible. Gob is blackballed from his own Magician's Alliance ("Aaahah") when the news reveals the secrets of his Aztec tomb (where he attempted to hide his father) and is unable to get any gigs, Tobias loses his medical licence after performing CPR on a sleeping man and decides to become an actor instead, Lindsay is simply lazy and uninterested in helping, Lucielle is a raging alcoholic at best and a manipulative, domineering witch at worst and poor Buster is so incapable of functioning in the real world that he can't even tell the difference between the sea and land on a map.

Arrested Development is very much a British show in style; that is, it's about a bunch of very unpleasant people doing unpleasant things to themselves and others. The cast has only two genuinely 'nice guys' in it; one of whom is the constantly put upon Michael and the other is his son George Michael (who spends most of his time struggling with an unwanted and illegal crush on his cousin Maeby). But while the majority of these people are spoiled, wretched and nasty they are all very likable in their own ways.


Arrested Development is presented in a subtle mocumentary style, the legendary Ron Howard narrates the story each episode and provides the thrust of events, snide comments and recaps/reminders. He provides a very dry and pleasant narration that feels natural and complements the pseudo-documentary nature of the show. Much like the Office, the show doesn't overplay it's documentary nature, in truth it apart from the narration it's more subtle as it doesn't use talking head interviews or fourth wall direct glances at the camera. For the most part the characters act as if the cameras are not filming them.

Performances from the ensemble cast are superb across the board and if is very difficult to single any particular actors out for praise, but David Cross and Will Arnett in particular are hilarious as Tobias and Gob. Tobias's lines are particularly impressive as a lot of them are improvised by Cross himself, and still the man is consistently funny. So funny that he was bumped up from his original slated position as a guest star into a full blown cast member, an excellent decision - without it we would never have had the 'Blue myself' and 'Analysis/Therapist' moments.


Plotting wise Arrested Development is a little unusual for a sitcom, it has a very solid sense of continuity that builds upon itself. Unlike traditional sitcoms that return everything to normal by the end of the episode and tend to ignore developments or not refer to them again, Arrested Development is filled with a continuing story that progresses forwards and changes the situation the characters are in, it is worth nothing that the characters themselves rarely learn from their mistakes (part of the Arrested Development theme suggested by the show's title) and remain as selfish and stupid as always but the storyline provides another layer of comedy. Callbacks and foreshadowing of events abound throughout the show, with many moments that mirror or build on previous jokes or catchphrases, the foreshadowing in particular is exceptionally intelligent in it's structure. There are jokes that are specifically designed for the viewer to only get on repeat watching, I myself have now watched the entire thing four times and the last watching still revealed jokes I'd missed the previous times.

I have no hesitation in calling Arrested Development the best comedy show I've watched, ever. And in fact that's exactly what I did call it when I went through my top 50 shows last year. It's a show so good that even just writing about it makes me want to go and watch it all over again, something I have to physically restrain myself from doing because I have enough to watch and I've already seen it once this year. In essence you should watch Arrested Development if you happen to like television shows, yeah that's it - if you watch TV you should watch this, it's that damn good, it's 'The Wire' of comedy shows.

You must watch this before you die, or you haven't lived.



Before we go here is the very short and sweet introduction/credits that open each episode:


If you follow from this video you'll be able to find dozens and dozens of hilarious clips, but they don't compare to watching the show in full. It is rare that you find such a layered and clever comedy show as this one. You should watch it before the movie comes out.

1) It's worth noting that the imdb has Arrested Development at a 9.7/10, a score I've only ever seen matched by The Wire on that site.
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I found myself wondering if I'd missed some stuff this week as my TV load didn't feel quite so overwhelming as it did the past two weeks. I suspect it's in part because a few things didn't air and in part because I'm getting used to the overload of great television.

Dexter:

Review is over here, short version is - it's a very funny episode.

How I Met Your Mother:

This week's HIMYM had a wonderfully subtle set of homages to other comedy shows in it. Barney running a wonderful back to the future skit, more Marshall robot impressions and Robin projecting onto everyone else. It was classic HIMYM and I just wish I could talk about it more without spoiling it for someone who's already complained once about spoilers!

Heroes:

I finally caught back up this week with what is now being called 'Heroes: The Wire reunion tour'. Jamie Hector has been in it for a few weeks and now the amazing Andre Royo turns up this week, both with his usual level of supreme acting talent and an interesting power. So 305 was much better than 304, all this Heroes Time Travel Cause and Effect Nonsense just clouds what's good about the show. Still, maybe, just maybe this goose isn't over-cooked yet.

But I can't help noticing just how much of Heroes is stolen from The 4400, vague unpleasant future, time travel, abilities, a formula that gives normal people abilities, a conspiracy to control the world etc etc. I don't really mind so much, I'm just wondering why 4400 failed while Heroes is so popular. Especially considering the lack of consistency in writing right now.

Boston Legal:

A back to basics episode which featured just Denny Crane and Alan Shore defending the husband of an old flame of Alan's. It's a simple and pure trial episode with some great performances from the guest stars, including the lovely Brenda Strong and one of my favourite Homicide actors Kyle Secor. It's an episode very much centered around Alan and it works well. But I did miss Katie, Carl and Jerry. Especially Katie, I think I love Tara Summers.

The Shield:

That baby is over here. Not as tense as last weeks episode but it shows huge potential for explosive action in the next one. The brew simmered rather than boiling over, but that makes for better flavour (enough with the food jokes!)

Supernatural:

"I'm a maverick, ma'am. A rebel with a badge. One thing I don't play by, the rules."


Do not adjust your set!

People are dying in the Pennsylvania Ocktoberfest and they're being killed by classic monsters from old black and white movies. It's up to the Winchesters to get to the bottom of it all, in stylish black and white.

Seriously, Oh my goodness, stars and stripes, garters and elephants, werewolves and vampires. This was the best thing on television all week. Supernatural was so freaking amazing that it deserves it's own post and the second slot in my long forgotten 'Exceedingly Excellent Episode' feature. I'm going to write about just how amazing it was in full sometime soon but for now I'll just leave it by saying that I LOVE it when shows occasionally mix things up like this. It's better than last years Ghost Chasers episode and the Hollywood episode (in season 2) was and that's saying something. Bravo, bravo!

My Name is Earl:

"Boys aren't supposed to think their mothers are sexy. I mean, maybe a couple of weird dreams during puberty that you don't tell anyone about, but that's it."

Cheerleaders, badgers, families and facial scars. Earl attempts to cross Randy off his list by agreeing to go to cheer leading camp with him. It's actually an episode that I felt could have been longer, a double length 40 min episode would have worked great here as there were some hilarious supporting actors playing cheerleaders. Still, it was short but sweet.

The Office:

Jan has her baby without telling Michael, so he continues to throw a baby shower after the birth. Cue awkward moments involving a melon and butter, Jan singing inappropriate songs to her newborn, conversation about a tub birth while eating cake and Dwight trashing a $1200 stroller by throwing it around in a junkyard and then dragging it behind his car. Michael comes to realise that he doesn't really feel anything for Jan's baby and finally asks Holly out. Pam and Jim spend the whole day slightly out of sync with each other before finally ending up so in sync that they have the same conversation to each others answer machines at the same time. A great little scene to cap the episode off and it's good to know that the writers are content to let their relationship push forward in a productive manner instead of jerking the viewers around.

And in DVDs I've been watching Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law again because it's a great way to fill ten mins, That 70s Show season 6 and 7 (I completely forgot that they changed the actress who plays Laurie in this season, it's really off-putting) and I'm still working through The West Wing Season 1 by enjoying a little of it here and there.
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It's that time of week again, where I head out into the Internet and rustle up a few fat steers reviews and bring them on back to the pen. Usual hunting grounds abound!

We open this week with Alan's review right here. It seems the lucky chap has seen all the way up to episode 11 now.

Tom R continues to power away with his recap and review over at TheTwoCents He even used one of my favourite phrases to open his post "It's all about X" (Where X is whatever you feel like it being). Why haven't I used that yet in this blog?

Jonathan Toomey has a cracking line from the show to open up and echoes my own worries about Claudette. It's ironic how Claudette, essentially the anti-Vic, is being punished just as badly for following the straight and narrow path as Vic is for driving roughshod over anything in the way.

Did you miss something this week? Are you unsure of someones name? Then it's all here in the imdb synopsis as always. You're welcome.

It took a little hunting but I found Capone's review over at 'Ain't it cool' again.

I love the picture Premium Hollywood have up for the episode, straight, crooked, they all wear sunglasses.

Where would we be without Geeky Talk's review to round things up? Well still sat in the same seat looking at these words, but here it is anyway. There are some good thoughts in the post, but I'm sure the guy commenting is completely wrong about how it'll end up.

And he might be lagging a bit behind the rest of us now but Jason Pinter's recap and thoughts on the previous episode "Animal Control" (706) are up here.
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Starring:
Allison Janney as Claudia Jean 'C.J.' Cregg
Martin Sheen as President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet
John Spencer as Leo McGarry
Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman
Janel Moloney as Donna Moss
Richard Schiff as Toby Ziegler
Dulé Hill as Charlie Young
NiCole Robinson as Margaret Hooper
Melissa Fitzgerald as Carol Fitzpatrick
Rob Lowe as Sam Seaborne
Joshua Malina as Will Bailey
and Stockard Channing as Abbey Bartlet



The West Wing is Aaron Sorkin's multiple Emmy award winning show about a fictional Democratic White House President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet and his administrative staff during his presidency. It's a show filled with blistering and snappy dialog that looks at the various crises faced by the office of the President of the US and the compromises that have to be made by the office in order to get policies and bills passed.

The first season alone garnered nine Emmys, which is a record for an opening season and for a single season, and overall it gathered a total of two golden globes, a Peabody and twenty six Emmys in it's seven year run. Which is an impressive pedigree by anyone's standards. It has also gained a great deal of acclaim for a relatively realistic portrayal of life inside and around the Oval Office from actual retired staffers. So it's (apparently) pretty genuine in it's design, of course I'm no expert in American politics and bureaucracy (or politics and bureaucracy full stop) so don't hold me to that claim.

The majority of the stories revolve around the President, the First Lady and his core staff, with reoccurring characters sometimes supplementing these stories or supporting them. Performances across the board are superb, but of particular note are Rob Lowe, Martin Sheen, John Spencer, Allison Janney and Bradley Whitford (who later went on to star as Danny in the short lived Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip).

Now at this point I've not seen every single episode of The West Wing, so I can only speak for the quality of the earlier seasons, which are all just top notch. I was a little unsure when I first purchased this as I'd only seen a handful of episodes before, but I can say now that I feel like I've spent my money well as every single episode I've seen so far has been filled with great stories, clever, engaging characters and superb dialog. I didn't think I'd be so interested in a show about politics, but I am.

















In total there is the following:

Season One:

Season Two:
Constructing Two Cathedrals: An introspective look at the making of the finale
Access Granted: A Walk-and-Talk Tour of the White House Sets
Deleted Scenes
Gag Order

Season Three:
A Property Master's Story: How D.C. Details are recreated on the sound stages
The Chief of Stuff: Day-to-day experiences of providing support services to a President
Reel-Life to Real-Life: Documentary special about real-life White House veterans
Deleted Scenes

Season 4
Behind Every Good Man... Is the First Lady: A Comparison and contrast between Abbey Bartlet and the real-life Presidential wives.
The Letter of the Word: How real-life Presidential speechwriters have gotten the job done
Unaired Scenes

Season 5:
Political Missteps: Gag Reel
In Potus We Trust: A Presidential profile of Josiah Bartlet and his portrayer Martin Sheen
Gaza: Anatomy of an episode: The elements of recreating a foreign country are explored

Season 6:
C.J. Gregg: The Evolution of the character

Season 7:
Live from the Director's Chair: A multi angle view from the truck as the director calls the live debate episode
Countdown to West Wing Live




The Details:

Audio: 2.0 Dolby Sound
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Regular/Colour
Runtime: 112 hours (Approx 42 mins per episode)
Languages: English
Hearing Impaired: English
Subtitles: English
Format: Dual-Layer
Region: 2




Must Buy.
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In this weeks episode of Dexter our beloved hero protagonist is facing impending fatherhood, having to let someone who's seen him kill live and trying to turn the police department away from the Freebo case while a new killer begins to emerge from the woodwork.

Read about the jungle, an easy way to get free milk and new friendships beyond the link...

The pieces for this season are beginning to fall into place just right and my concerns about how things were going to pan out are subsiding. I still feel that the show is lacking something without Erik King's amazing screen presence burning hate at Dexter, but the picture for this season's ride is coming clear and it looks like a good one.

So, last week Dexter killed Freebo, was caught post factum by Miguel Prado and forced to think (and act) fast in order to conceal the truth about himself. As a consequence he convinced Prado that he'd killed Freebo in self defense and covered up the truth of the murder rapidly. Since this has happened Prado has decided that it would be best if they became close friends, much to Dexter's chagrin.

The Lion Sleeps Tonight is good, fun, lighthearted Dexter at it's best, there are some indications of the future to come. Especially the appearance of a new serial killer who's been tentatively nicknamed 'The Skinner' by Angel, Dexter's gradual acceptance of fatherhood and the change in attitude it brings. Which is brought home by his slaying of a paedophile who was overly interested in Astor and then his opportunistic stealing of said paedophile's milk at the end of the episode. The episode feels very much like the fun lull before the gigantic s**t storm descends upon the characters and everything gets turned upside down again.

I have to give out a few nods to some excellent acting in this episode, Michael C. Hall is as spiffing as always and Jimmy Smits is compelling as Prado, the way he's inserting himself into Dexter's life feels natural and he's a genuinely likable sort. But the real tip of the hat goes to Jennifer Carpenter as Debra who ran out the truly awesome line "A baby?! A motherf***in', rolly-polly, chubby-cheeked s**t machine -- are you kidding me?!" with such ease. She consistently impresses me each episode by finding a whole new level of filth to utter from her mouth.

As I mentioned last week, TV.com's unwise and massive spoiler about events on set has made it very difficult to judge each episode in isolation. My knowledge of what happens is tainting everything that I see, but that problem aside 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' was a great episode with dark humour in spades. Fun dialog, amusing situations, Dexter performing yoga, it was all there in quantity and I really enjoyed it all. Well, apart from Quinn and his C.I., that story thread can just go away and die in a ditch, it's really uninteresting, has a pair of boring characters and is a complete waste of Jennifer Carpenter's talent.
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This won't become a regular feature by any stretch of the imagination but here's a Television related piece of artwork from yours truly. It's of Zorak from Adult Swim's Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, which is the show that eventually resulted in my watching the most excellent Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law. Originally drawn in inks then scanned and coloured, this is the only surviving copy of it left. You can click on it for the original size version if you like.


Dexter review tomorrow, I've got a little behind with watching it as I was catching up with Heroes.

P.S. Don't worry, this is a one-off picture, art won't become a regular feature here. As I'm not drawing any time soon it's highly unlikely that I'll put another one up ever. I'm just using this as an excuse to break out the Why You Should Watch on Harvey Birdman as I'm watching them again right now myself.
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As they say, the powder keg is lit and things are about to get serious. The Shield's tumulous ride is entering it's final stretch and there is everything to lose, everything. Vic is being stretched in too many directions at the same time and he's still too confident that he can keep everything up in the air at the same time.

Read about being buff in your fifties, helping out old partners and a dish best served cold beyond the link

Remember this episode in the third season? Well this week we have a call back to a relatively minor character who featured in that episode. The bottom bitch herself (pardon my language) Farrah, she's back and needs help from Vic in chasing up after her pimp who killed her friend. This brings in some classic old strike team action with all of the guys in on it, naturally there's only one member with their head actually in the game, Julien and this time he gets bit hard for his diligence. This episode is a deliberate lull after the attempt on Shane's life and acting normal is looking a little hard for people. Ronnie is having rage control issues and takes them out on Two Man (a suspect), Shane is feeling more than a little insecure and Vic has finally Vic acknowledged what he's done to Shane, how he changed him over the time in the strike team.

Bitches Brew boils down to four essential ingredients; we have the strike team working the case with Farrah's assistance, Vic and Olivia work together to manipulate ICE and Acevada, Dutch and Billings investigate a home invasion and Vic deals with his paternity problems over Lee.

The episode goes to bring home just how little control Vic has left over things, previously Vic often felt in control of the situations he handled, but since the start of the sixth season we've seen a Vic constantly off-guard and running damage limitation. This isn't really surprising because he's gone from having three people covering his back down to just very irate Ronnie. His pride makes it impossible for him to realise when he's out of control, something Farrah played him for when they previously met and she does the same again. Setting up her pimp Bombay to get shot (by Julien) and playing Vic just as well as she did the first time they met. Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. Vic would do well to learn, and fast.

Claudette is struggling hard with her lupus and police duties, but she's been covering it so well that it's not until Dutch breaks into her house that he realises just how deep the hole she is in is. It's great to see just how much Dutch is willing to do to help Claudette and it's even better that she's not too proud to accept his help. Speaking of help Dutch and Billings are finally clicking and working together after Dutch admitted to Billings that he needed his help, it seems that Billing just needed a little consideration and respect from a colleague to get him out of his funk. Working together they handily put down a case of home invasion/security scam. It's just a shame that they've come together so late in this, I really enjoy watching the Dutch and Billings work, it's a nice change of pace from the tension elsewhere in the Barn. Also the guy they were grilling, he's almost like an older version of Vic, which is a great little piece of poetry there. As Vic was talking about the guy everything he said could have also applied to himself. One of Vic's potential futures was right there in plain sight for everyone to see.

How about Danny? It was just a matter of time before something snapped and frankly I'm thrilled she isn't just going to take Vic's strong arm badgering at all. Yes packing up and running away (which is what it seems she'll be doing) isn't the strongest move; but Vic is relentless, even when it's something he'd be better off conceding about so he can concentrate elsewhere. Unfortunately if Danny leaves it's going to set things back for Claudette, just as she's gotten competent help she loses it.

To bounce back to Vic for a moment, 10 days until he's kicked off the force. Wow, that's tense. Both he and Claudette are on their way out.

Overall I don't know right now, I really don't, I went into this season hoping to see Vic just walk away from it all and make it out in one piece. But as the season has progressed I've become somewhat indifferent to his survival, I like Vic still - he's a flawed but decent character - thing is he's so arrogant and short sighted that he doesn't know when he's overreached himself. He's out all alone in a sinking rowboat and he's not willing to jump ship.

All I do know is that next week Vic and Ronnie better watch out, because Shane is about to retaliate at them and then all bets will be off. Cracking episode, but I'm sure the next few will raise the stakes even higher.
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Well Stephen Fry in America was shown last night and as I have a great deal of passion and love for America (and a great deal of admiration for Mr Fry as well) I had to sit down and watch it. Which is rather unusual for me, I tend to sort of skate around British TV tutting like a disapproving grandmother and then go off to watch something American with bigger budgets, guns, superior writing or just from HBO (which normally ticks all four of those). But I have a fondness for documentaries and I've always adored the sheer diversity of America, all those wonderful contradictions wrapped up under one magnificent flag and ideal. I've always wanted to do what Stephen does in this series, take a vehicle (a motorbike in my case) and visit every single state. Thanks to Stephen I can do it from the comfort of my armchair or while taking the train to work.

There is one thing that you can always be sure of when Stephen is involved, and that's facts. You're going to get a wealth of information about the places he visits. Heck QI has revealed things I've never forgotten - like "The UK has the most tornadoes per year in the world" (of course visiting google now informs me that it might only be second behind the Netherlands, but that's stupid science facts, they always end up contradicting the ones that came previously) and my personal favourite "If you throw a cat out from a seventh floor window (or higher) it will survive unharmed". (Please, don't do this - I don't want to get blamed for cats landing on people).

Back to my point, which is once again Stephen doesn't disappoint, he provides a wealth of interest about the states he visits, especially the wonderful Rhode Island homes and a simply fantastic cabin type building located in a State that eludes me right now. It's the first in a series of six programs and there is also an accompanying book which doubtless contains a wealth of information not broadcast.

I thought it was a simply delightful way to spend an hour and it's just strengthened my resolve to go back to the US and visit some more States (So far I've been to New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama) I will certainly be watching again next week.

Of course it would be completely inexcusable if I didn't at least plug Stephen's very own blog, which is over there in my blog roll and here's a direct link to the post with an extract from his book. A book I plan to purchase tomorrow.

Stephen Fry in America is on BBC 1 Sundays 9pm - 10pm for the next five weeks. The DVD will be available from November 17th. It's also available to watch on the BBC iPlayer here.
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In this week's episode of Life Crews and Reese are called out to a psychology experiment gone wrong. During a study similar to Zimbaro's social prison experiment one of the guards has been murdered and it's up to our detectives to find out who.

Read about familiar faces, social psychology and an unusual use for a plastic bag beyond the link...

Well before I start I think it's worth mentioning that I've been snooping around the online interest in Life because I've been concerned that the show might end up going under and I don't have access to the actual TV viewing figures. But the show seems to average between five and six thousand seeds/leeches whenever a new episode comes out (of course the actual number is always much higher than that due to drop outs/computers not being on etc etc.) Now in comparison each episode of Heroes reaches around forty to forty five thousand at it's peak. Which is eight times the amount, but that's still not a bad showing for Life. If only NBC could find a way to tap into their Internet supporters they'd find out that Life has legs.

Onto the episode, now before we start talking about the actual action in this episode this is one of those times where I can actually provide a fair wadge of the background before hand. The episode is based on and mirrors Zimbardo's prison experiment that was held in a basement in Stanford, but taken to a higher extreme. During Zimbardo's experiment the subjects were assigned roles as either guards or prisoners in an attempt to see how much the uniform and the stereotypical role affects normal people. The study had to be cut short due to brutality being inflicted on the "prisoners". We're talking some pretty grim stuff happening here, and this was just a simulated prison, the wikipedia article has a nice overview of it if you want to read more (and as far as I can see - without going into major analysis - is correct right now) - but you can also find out about it in most general psychology text books. It's one of those things that's really worth a read as it's a frightening insight into the human condition and the effect institutions have on individual personalities (just like The Wire!)

Now onto the episode itself.

Now this is what I'm talking about when it comes to Life, the previous episode was good but this one is great. The acting load is spread around the entire cast, Donal gets his own storyline to deal with, Ted is called into to help out in the case and even the lovely Robin Weigert returns as Karen Davis.

The main storyline revolves around the aforementioned prison experiment and the episode rapidly establishes only a few of the inmates are of interest to us. While there's about twenty odd suspects because we only get to learn anything about four of them it's clear that it'll be one of those. That's just standard logic when it comes to procedurals, it's not a failing of the episode as such, it's a failing of the genre. Outside of that complaint the episode is very strong, Damian is on fine form as the script is tailored to his strengths and he's also supported by the story and the other characters very well. Also Tidwell's B story went a long way towards making him likable, they just need to drop the leching after Reese now and he'll be a worthy addition to the cast. Hopefully Davis makes more appearances as well, Robin was a lot more comfortable and useful in this episode then she was last season (after it became clear she was not involved in the big conspiracy in any manner she sort of lost direction as a character.)

Not For Nothing was great entertainment, it was a fun story (with a slightly implausible set up that I can ignore) and just felt like the show was finding it's groove back. Of course the worry here is I've only seen four more episodes scheduled and NBC is doing terrible right now - somethings going to get cut in the scramble to improve ratings and I really hope it's not Life, because I like this show.
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No new shows this week,

Dexter:
Review is located here. Solid episode with some great moments that was spoiled by tv.com's unwise release of news from future episodes without a spoiler warning.

Family Guy:
Eh, some weeks Family Guy is great, some weeks it's not. This was a not week for me. I was amused by the continuous repetition of The Trashmen's "Surfin' Bird" but that's about it. No doubt the various videos of it on YouTube will double in hits from people with it stuck in their head. Don't you know, about the bird?

American Dad:
American Dad on the other hand was rather amusing with a tale of not very mystery and obvious suspense. But then again you don't expect depth and unexpected twists in a cartoon like that, so the obvious nature of the plot was fine. The King Klaus joke was very good.

Life:
Episodes 2 and 3 are reviewed here. Short version is the second episode is bad, third episode great.

How I Met Your Mother:
A reasonable episode with some good moments, but nothing majorly special. I've never understood the New Jersey hating from Manhattan so it was hard to click with this one. The Barney moments were still great and Robin had a couple of zingers also.

Boston Legal:
There are two cases this week that focus on some of the core traits of Denny and Alan, guns and sexism. True these are pretty old topics for the show, but it's delivered in a fantastic way, the "Boom" interplay between John and Bill in the courtroom is nothing short of hilarious but it's capped by Henry Gibson (who's always fun as Judge Brown) yelling at them. Nice touches in this episode with Alan being cut off while ranting and Denny failing to fail, thus failing to get what he wanted. It's good to occasionally have things switched up, even a little.

The Shield:
That's over here. Short version, un-freaking-believable. But could you really expect anything less?

The Office:
Office (USA) how I love you oh-so much with your tackling Michael Scott and the doubling up of Holly and Michael's terrible matched sense of humour. Michael is just incapable of giving up anything when it comes to heading up a discussion, even when he's desperate to forge a connection with Holly he still can't help spoiling her presentation . Jim's back to antagonising Dwight, this time about his time wasting - I really can't get enough of those two going at each other and this weeks was gold. Battlestar Galactica will now forever be, the story of Dumbledore Calrissian and his journey returning the ring back to Mordor. But Jim's monitoring of Dwight's activities has put him closer to spotting that Dwight is carrying on an affair with Angela.

The scene where Holly gets a dressing down from HR is a great little callback/parallel to all the ones Michael used to get from Jan.

Supernatural:
"What can change the nature of a man?"
Dean confronts Sam about his abilities and his intimate relationship with Ruby. The episode has the lads dealing with a man who's suffering from a parallel condition to Sam's own one - eventually the man will turn into a flesh craving cannibal. Dean wants to end him while Sam wishes to give the man a chance to redeem himself. By the end of the episode he's driven to become the monster, unable to resist when another hunter threatens his pregnant wife and Sam is forced to destroy him. As a result of this Sam agrees to stop using his demonic abilities. For now at least.

My Name is Earl:
This week we learn that the first amendment is about the freedom to talk with firearms, memento makes for mildly amusing comedy and giant prosthetic asses stop being funny when you get older. Pretty standard fair for the show, nothing spectacular - just fun.

In the land of DVDs I finished watching season five of That 70s Show and I picked up the complete West Wing for an absolute steal so I've just started watching it. I missed it when it was first out but I really enjoyed watching Studio 60 so I decided to take the plunge. I'm rather glad I did, the stirring music during speeches irritates me somewhat as I hate it when shows try to manipulate your feelings with their musical score, but that's a minor gripe at best and the rest of the show is superb. Seriously, if you have a spare £50 and half an interest in it there's 114hours of programming (plus extras) there and it's been great so far.

I also forgot to watch Heroes this week, but I heard/read it was a fun episode.

I'm thinking about picking up 'Sons of Anarchy' to watch as well because it sounds like it's getting good. Anyone had any experience watching it?

Come back tomorrow for the first of the Watching the Wire series, you might want to watch/rewatch the first episode in preparation. You'll be able to correct me if I got anything wrong and earn some Wire geekery points in the process, or something.
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There's a few drop outs as people start to lose steam and/or get behind with their reviewing of The Shield and I've managed to pick a few other new ones up to help.

First up we have TomR at TheTwoCents with his recap and review

Alan Sepinwall seemed to enjoy the episode greatly and thought (as did I for a bit to be fair) that Ronnie & Vic's plan might have worked. It wouldn't be the first time that The Shield has dropped something you expected to see in the final episode of the season earlier on.

Eric Goldman at IGN also enjoyed the episode a lot (heck who didn't?)

Jonathan Toomey has a lot to say about the episode (and no poll this week), there's certainly some stuff to chew over there.

The synopsis for Animal Control at the imdb is massive this week.

Capone is reviewing the episode over at ain't it cool. He keeps everything broken down into small points, something I've mentioned before I quite like but never do myself.

There's a few paragraphs from Jason Zingale at Premium Hollywood (is there a non-premium version of Hollywood?)

Geeky talk have their mix of screen caps and paragraphs over here.

Oh and a friendly warning, be careful out there because I believe the summaries for the next two episodes have been released and are either on the wikipedia Shield episode entry and/or TV.com. You might walk into them elsewhere (they're not in the links here mind you) on the web and they're pretty spoiler-riffic.

Until next week's episode you can just sit and think about how much you heart Tavon. I can assure you it's less than I do.
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In between watching the massive pile of TV shows I like and writing about the Wire I've been left thinking about the mammoth gap between a lot of the TV being shown right now and... Well... The Wire (but also The Sopranos, The Shield, SFU and other really great shows). Right now things are pretty formulaic out there in the world of TV. Now the US, with it's huge size and massive population is a lot better off, when you have so many people there's room for diversity and you can support a channel like HBO that puts out shows which don't draw masses of people watching. Shows which get a lot of critical support and maybe DVD sales, but when they're aired they might be TIVO'd or watched on the repeat.

The thing is, over here in Britannia there's nothing like that what so ever. We've got the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and then a bunch of channels either devoted to repeats (It's OK Dave, I still love your repeats or Top Gear and QI) airing American shows (I love you too FX, even if I never get to watch you), assorted documentaries (probably a lot repeated from elsewhere, I don't know - I just watch the Attenborough and shark ones) and daytime TV. There is no British version of HBO. We get occasional joint ventures between the BBC and HBO (Extras for example) but that's as close as it gets. There's no dedicated subscription style channel that concentrates on just pumping out the quality cultured TV that may not appeal to the masses but still rises to the top of the pond and says "Hey, this is what you could be watching if you wanted to think as well as be entertained."

We're approaching a recession for sure, the signs of it are everywhere, loads of people have been laid off - myself included, my latest job lasted a whole month before I was cut because of a need to save money. I'm now stuck filling the time in between job applications & interviews doing volunteer work and writing (often on here) and I'm not the only one. There's plenty of people who are feeling the crunch in many other ways, far worse than my own minor worries. My point is, during times of recession people cut back from consuming and enjoy whatever entertainment is available. For the individual person TV is one of the most freely available, also during times like these people become more creative, seeking respite with a place to escape too (not from - that's an important distinction) for a while. So we should see an increase in creative shows, exciting things that allow people their half hour to an hour away from the struggles. Something to remind us that there have been better times and there will be again.

And I think that a channel like that could be a great way to do this, the UK is capable of very exciting shows that put an interesting twist on an old concept (Life on Mars, Red Dwarf) and reviving classics with a charismatic lead (Doctor Who). Those of us stuck on the wet and windy isle of tea drinkers are a pretty damn creative bunch, our novelists demonstrate that. But right now there is precious little good new British TV out or coming out soon. Skins was decent-ish, but didn't really do anything special or clever beyond making many people feel like their own adolescent lives were empty in comparison, Moving Pictures was a great concept that got lumbered with a really poor linked show, but what else? I do apologise to those people who enjoy watching them but shows like Merlin, Bonekickers and Torchwood really don't count as quality television. Fun yes, but I'm yearning for that level of show above just entertainment. Maybe if I wasn't a self confessed p**s poor script writer I could try and help myself. But when you just have the ideas and not the ability it's better to stick with what you can do (I guess that means writing words about other people's brilliance for me), no-one needs another wanna-be swanning about trying to push their latest pilot script. Actually, they do - just as long as it isn't me.

I don't often write like this, I prefer to talk about the shows and DVD boxed sets rather than anything personal in nature and I don't intend to make a habit of it. But I'm just wondering, I'm I alone in my dissatisfaction with the batch of shows released this year? I thought the Writer's Strike was going to result in a huge selection of very imaginative new shows, but instead it's brought us a lot of remakes and nothing that really grabs. While the BBC has brought us "Hole in the Wall"...

Seriously? Where outside of Japan and the Internet is that show good enough to remake?

If anyone needs me I'll be hiding in a cave watching The Wire on repeat and muttering "It'll be all OK" over and over.
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We're nearly at the halfway point in The Shield's final act and things are heating up faster than an apartment on the Sun. This week's episode deals with a case that appears to be homicidal somnambulism while Vic and Ronnie put together a plan that might clear all of the problems in one fell swoop.

Read about parasomnia, mounting tension and a use for soda cans that wasn't intended by the designer beyond the link...

Ok, seriously. Wow. Things have been kept under the boil for the first five episodes of this final season and I was left doubting a little that the tension that the show is so good at creating was there at all. Things had almost become a confusing mess. But as always, The Shield knows exactly the right time to break and chance pacing. Animal Control is that episode, everything is on the table now and while there's still no clues about the end game it's clear that it's going to be messy.

Vic and Ronnie see an opportunity to deal with Shane and Razien at the same time and decide to go for it. Out of the two men it turns out that it's Vic who cracks and wants to call it off. But Ronnie is in the position to call the shots and shows just how effective he is, he shuts down Vic's attempts to pull out once all the pieces are in place. Finally using his position as the head of the strike team to bring Vic under his control.

Speaking of control it was great to see Claudette finally turn around to Ronnie and let him have it for allowing Shane and Vic to run rampant around. I'm glad she didn't buy all those "chasing down a lead" excuses, she's too smart for that. So Ronnie has to either shape up and get control of the team or he'll be out of a job the same time as Vic.

Also, I was thrilled to see Tavon back, more importantly I was completely thrilled to see him mark Shane out for what he did to him. Shane is responsible for screwing up my two favourite members of the strike team, Lem and Tavon. So it was great to have at least one of them be able to stand up and call him for what he is. Of course Tavon thought that the other members of the team tend to cover for Shane, he doesn't know how far the corruption sinks. But it was still great to see him back, even if briefly. I find myself hoping that he'll be involved again sometime soon. If there's anyone I'd like to see take Shane down it's Tavon.

In the Barn Dutch continues to see serial killers everywhere he looks; a case of parasomnia, specifically somnambulism (sleep walking) results in a man being found naked and confused behind an alley covered with blood. Immediately Dutch, working with Claudette (because Billings really can't be arsed) run down the road of serial killer using somnambulism as the perfect alibi. Homicidal somnambulism is honestly a bit of a stretch even for Dutch, while it has been used as a defense in court it's not really a documented phenomena (personally I suspect you're only likely to commit it if you're a predisposed killer and a sleep walker, but I've not researched into the area so that's just an opinion). Claudette and Dutch press hard and discover a dead girl who matches the blood type found on the man and also has blonde hair (which he discribed in his confused recall). Claudette pushes the man until he becomes convinced he did it and while she is out of the room he kills himself by opening his carotid artery with the edge of the soda can he was drinking. Unfortunately a young woman comes forward who reveals that the blood was hers, she fell and cut herself on a fire hydrant and he attempted to help her up, naked, sleep walking. But as Claudette returns to inform the man of the case she finds him laying on the floor covered in his own blood, the guilt being too much. It's a strong parallel with Tavon's story, which is also about an innocent man lead to believe he did something he didn't.

This causes Dutch to realise that he can't function without a partner to challenge and correct him. He needs someone else to keep him on the straight otherwise he just follows his theories without even testing them too hard. So he talks honestly and openly to Billings, in a manner that's a little amusing - Dutch doesn't notice he sounds rather like someone talking to their husband/wife. But Billings seems to accept the sentiment for what it is. Perhaps the two of them will start working together on cases and maybe approach the level of functioning that the Dutch/Claudette partnership had.

At the climax of the show Shane survives the ambush that Vic and Ronnie set up by nothing more than pure chance. He happens to go for a quick stretch of the legs to see if the Mexicans are arriving and sees the hitmen arrive with guns, he hides and once the Armenians - including Rezian - are shot dead he opens fire. But Ronnie doctored his gun and it doesn't work, personally I think that fixing Shane's gun was a serious mistake, if he was ambushed correctly (as the Armenians were) he would have been shot dead before even getting a chance to pull his gun. As it is he understands immediately what has happened here, something he reveals when talking to Mara at the end of the episode. He knows that Vic and Ronnie tried to get him killed and as he says "You know the worst part is? They think I'm too stupid to even realise it."

If Vic and Ronnie don't wise up fast they're going to be in a lot of trouble, while Shane can't reveal what they did without landing himself right in it for Lem he's more than capable of killing. If it had been Shane and Ronnie doing this to Vic Shane wouldn't have even blanched at the time. Vic at least couldn't go through with it when push came to shove and only the combination of Ronnie and Shane's mobile being take away from him stopped him warning Shane in time.

As Vic himself said, he's not like Shane. Unfortunately for him, Shane is.
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I got caught a little on the hop with the way Life is being aired right now, it's rather chaotic and honestly not a good sign. I'm a little concerned that the show might be counting numbered days.

In "Everything...All the time" Crews and Reese investigate the circumstances surrounding a man found tied to a chair and beaten to death. Outside of work Crews brings in the assistance of his ex-wife to try and get Rachel to open up.

Read about steroids, frozen man-sicles, big dogs, chimps, bananas and apples beyond the link...

This really isn't a case of the show I know and love, the first two episodes of Life have been very lack luster, the pilot episode was somewhat redeemed with plenty of stylish shots and a very clever fake out involving an acrylic box but this weeks episode has very little going for it at all. It involves rather stereotypical douche-bag spoiled kids being boring while acting like they're cool. It's exactly the kind of storyline that sends me to sleep and frankly it's a shame because I really liked the Life I experienced in the later part of the last season. It was a great show with real promise.

Fortunately the third episode is a lot better, but that's not a big help in getting through this episode. Which is frankly a chore to watch, essentially all you need to know is that Rachel isn't able or willing to talk, Jack Reese starts blackmailing Ted into reveal ling things about Crews and his ongoing personal investigation, Crews gets a new car, harasses Jack and bugs him. As for the rest of the episode, the main story is just well pretty ordinary.

I could go into it a bit more, but honestly I don't really want to. I enjoy this show no end and I want to see it develop into the show it promises it could be, but in order to manage that the other members of the cast are going to need to be fleshed out more. There's too much still being carried on Damian's shoulders and no man, not even Hugh Laurie, can carry an entire show of that length by himself (well Lance Henriksen nearly managed it). Donal Logue's character (Brian Tidwell) is being developed a little more but right now he remains nothing other than a superior who makes inappropriate comments.

I'm just going to brush this episode aside and move onto the next one, which is much better.

The Business of Miracles is more like the Life I used to know and enjoy back in the second half of the season. An elderly scientist is found frozen solid in his lab and Crews & Reese are assigned to investigate. It's the Life formula which works - unusual crime, interesting suspects and lighthearted comedy scenes mixed with some heavier stuff that deals with the ongoing conspiracy.

It also helps that the comedic moments are spread around a little more, Crews breaking the scientist was a good touch, Danni's comment was even better. Then the triple whammy of Crews being hit by the chimp then asking his Ex's new husband (Johnathan is it?) for permission to sleep with his wife, getting knocked down by him with a single punch (great prat fall there) and then again Danni capping it all off by mocking him in the lift. This is the kind of stuff that makes the show good. While Danni had some good moments Captain Tidwell needs to stop leching after her, the scenes where he does that really do not do him or her any favours at all, they're just uncomfortable, hopefully the writers turn a corner and close that particular interest - or have it just be playful (but mistaken) fun on his part without any real interest.

The case was solid (ha ha, ice cold) and had some great visuals, unlike the previous episode - which was a combination of confusing, annoying and who cares? This one had good guest stars, the chimp was definitely the best of them mind you, and a reasonable twist to the story. It's not the most memorable case so far - that's a tie between half a man in an empty house and the buried Buddhist - but it was fun.

Unfortunately I'm not sure how many people will have weathered the first two episodes to get this far, with the schedule all over the place for the show it's been hard to keep track and I've been actively attempting to keep on top of it. The casual viewer is even less likely to have bothered following up after Fridays atrocious offering. The show needs to deliver two or three more excellent episodes in a row if it wants to survive.

And I do want Life to survive, it's precious.

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First of all, before I start I have to say. Avoid reading about the Jimmy Smitts/Dexter news over at TV.com. It's a big spoiler that was not even marked as such. Sigh. At least it indicates an interesting direction for the show.

In Finding Freebo the Miami P.D. sets about trying to locate Freebo, a dealer who is accused of killing the baby brother of Assistant D.A. Miguel Prado. Meanwhile Dexter and Rita have to make a huge decision about their family.

Read about good luck charms, strawberries and the cavalry beyond the link...

It's been a while since I watched the leaked premiere of the show and this combined with the aforementioned spoiler reveal has made it a little difficult to get directly back on track with the show. Fortunately it only takes the opening credits and recap to get me back in the zone.

Overall it was a pretty interesting episode, I sometimes find myself wondering how many legs the show has left. Sure this is only the second episode of the third season, but without Doakes there is still that missing edge. On the other hand it seems that the show may be able to give something else up to provide that. Dexter is facing fatherhood and also Prado is the only living person to know that he's killed. The problem I have with assessing this episode is in my knowledge of the future events. It's hard to say more without spoiling stuff, so I'm going to close the speculation here and just focus on the episode.

Performances across the board were as solid as ever. I'm still not the least bit interested or convinced about the new cop, heck apart from looking a bit stupid and annoying Debs I'm not sure what the point of him is. It's probable he's supposed to become either an interest or a foil for Debra, hopefully it's the latter because he has prize turkey written all over him and it's about time Debs got a decent man (without screwing it up through paranoia).

The parallel investigations between Dexter and Debs/The Department added a nice level of tension to the show, it's just a shame that Debs is investigating something so directly linked to Dexter's own doings. She doesn't have a hope of getting that promotion through normal police work, which is probably where the IID/IAD angle comes in later on.

Vince and Angel were as fantastic as always, especially enjoyable was Vince's hollow use of religion, treating it like some kind of good luck charm and then discarding it without another thought. But the real star turn lands in the hands of Jimmy Smitts as Prado, he's effortlessly placed himself into the show without any kind of jarring effect. This is a great move and as he has such a large role in the episodes so far it was important that his appearance would feel natural. His reaction when discovering Dexter with the knife was both surprising and very real. Dexter's story felt a smidgen hackneyed but considering the circumstances (and the general suspension of disbelief the show requires) it worked.

Overall Finding Freebo was a better episode than Our Father, but the trailer for the next episode that was even more exciting to watch. It seems things are going to get very interesting for Dexter...


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Well a while back, when The Wire finished and I watched that enchanting final episode I made a promise to myself that I was going to sit down and review each and every single episode for the show in full from start to finish. The intended trigger point for that (so I could procrastinate a little and practice writing before starting) was the release of the final season on DVD here in Blighty. Well it's happened, it's out (DVD Review coming after I've had a chance to check the extras) and that means I can't delay any longer. Time's up. So starting next Sunday and every Sunday for the next sixty weeks I will watch and review a single episode of The Wire. The intended format will avoid any foreshadowing spoilers and as such it will be written reflecting on just that episode and the events that happened before it. A recap, followed by a list of important details from the episode and then an assessment/review.

I'm actually quite excited about watching the show again and I'm interested to see how it feels when I'm only allowed to watch it once a week. I previously consumed the first three seasons in marathon sittings and it wasn't until the fourth season that I was watching the show as aired.
So check back here next Sunday (6pm - GMT) for the first installment of "Watching the Wire*"

I hope you guys are as excited about this as I am, also do you like the logo?

*I use a lot of W's in my post titles don't I? I wonder why...
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In a slight effort to tidy things up I've removed the messy labels link on the side bar and replaced it with both an Index and Table of Contents pages. Hopefully this should make site navigation a little easier, but if there's anything missing or not working please use this space to let me know. Likewise with suggestions.
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With the upcoming movie in post-production I've decided this week to write about a show which I'm very fond of; Dead Like Me.


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A change of name for the post previously known as "The Weekly Round Up" to differentiate it from "The Shield Review Round Up".

More returning shows this week, I can't help but feel I should try to watch some other new show this season. But there's not much that interests me amongst the newer shows:

American Dad:
American Dad returns with a rather average episode based mostly around Steve as he hits puberty. Francine doesn't want to lose her baby while Stan wants Steve to hurry up and become a man. Cue some rather silly youth/aging antics which provide some great old person jokes. But on the whole the episode isn't great and they didn't take it in the direction I hoped they would.

Family Guy:
It's an age old story on family guy, dog meets woman, dog likes woman, viewer feels disturbed that people date dogs on Family Guy - even if they can talk (the dog not the people, I mean... ack, you know what I mean), baby gives dog bad advice, dog loses woman to friend, friend and woman nail each other everywhere dog goes, second friend nails woman, dog and friend make up again, everything goes back to normal.

Eh, that's pretty much all I have to say about the episode. I like Family Guy, but I really don't like the episodes which involve Brian falling in love with a woman. I know it's a cartoon, but I mean "Come On"! (I love referencing that show.)

Dexter:
I've already written about the first episode as it was leaked early. My thoughts on it haven't changed.

Boston Legal:
"My penis has Alzheimer's"
I watched the first two episodes of the final season as I'm playing catch up. Boston Legal has lost a lot of the spark that made it so good originally, the constantly changing staff has made it difficult for the viewer and the cast to develop attachments. I am a little saddened that this will be it's final season, but at least it's getting a chance to end on it's own terms. I do wish more networks would give a show a chance to do one final season before going (Yeah, I'm still smarting about the Arrested Development, Dead Like Me, Firefly, 4400 and Dead Zone cancellations.)

I digress, onto the episodes. It seems the cast has been paired down to a core group, containing the most interesting and effective characters of the previous season. Of course we have Denny and Alan back. But also we've kept Jerry, Katie, Shirley and Carl. I'm happy that they have been kept on because the relationships between these characters have been the strongest ones in recent times. I still miss Mark Valley mind you... The first episode revolves mostly around big tobacco, growing old and Denny's penis. It's an on pitch Boston Legal affair with almost all of the great moments in place; Alan's big speech, Jerry's sharp rant, Denny acting up because he's not the center of attention, Carl making surprising decisions. It's all there and it serves as a great return for the series, there's no innovation. Just more of what the viewer enjoys. The second episode had it's moments, truth be told it was very formulaic but there was the odd moment that really entertained. Especially the fourth wall references to this season being the last and talking about the end.

Oh and Tara Summers is as lovely as ever; one day, when I grow up I want to marry a lass just like her.

Heroes:
Jumped sharks much? Seriously, the show is really losing it's grip on it's own reality. It remains entertaining, but, well it's a little convoluted. I think I'm at the point where I just stop worrying about it all and start enjoying the nonsense instead. There are just too many errors and continuity issues to even start worrying. Fortunately they've not wasted Jamie Hector by just killing him off early, sadly he seems to have a pretty lousy ability as far as things go so it's just a matter of time before he's gone. I quite like the way that Parkman keeps getting called Pac-man mind you.

Enjoyable fluff, that's what the show has devolved into.


How I Met Your Mother:
This week gave us a fun and lighthearted episode centering around nostalgia, which is fitting for a show that is well... centered around nostalgia. It's not the best episode of HIMYM, lacking any truly brilliant moments but it does move the story forward for Marshall and entertain.

House M.D:
"Less creepy, more gay"
It may be utterly formulaic, but I can always forgive House for that because it's so damn entertaining. Normally I enjoy the whole "Who's going to get ill?" build up at the start of an episode, but this week it was very obvious as Breckin Meyer (Robot Chicken, King of the Hill) was in the scene - famous, recognisable person always gets ill. As for the episode, it was OK. There was some nice character development for Tau and Cuddy gets a little interest, both from House and Lucas. I'm still not sold on Lucas, he's a solid character but hardly deserving of his own series.

Supernatural:
I'm always a little cautious about any episode of a show that uses time travel, unless the principle focus of the show is time travel itself. Heroes is a great example of a show that's been screwed up due to the terrible influence fiddling with events can have. Continuity is a terrible thing to mess with, future or past. So once it became clear that the focus of this episode was going to be on time travel and Dean was intent on changing everything then things looked a little worrying. Fortunately the writers of Supernatural are not that stupid, the entire purpose of Dean's experience was not to change what happened but to see how everything unfolded. Now Dean is a little more aware of what's happened to Sam and the lines have begun to be drawn in the sand.

I do find watching Supernatural weekly to be an unusual experience, I watched the first three seasons entirely on DVD at my own pace. If I'm honest I preferred that experience over watching it each week. I'm tempted to stop watching and wait for everything to be released together because I prefer to see the show in blocks. But the story is so interesting right now that I don't think I could wait.

My Name is Earl:
"Don't forget to make a wish."
"I wish I was a girl."
There's another two episodes released this week, they're putting them out so fast there's going to be none left by the new year. We get a Joy and Darnell centric episode for the first of them which is always good, they're the most amusing characters in the show after Randy. It turns out Darnell gets migraines for one, not surprising considering how abrasive Joy is. The man better avoid any affairs then, having an affair if you're migraine prone can lead to strokes (according to the latest study anyway). We also get a return of the Earl/Randy bed scene at the end of the episode, they're always good. The second episode is a bit more heartwarming in nature, but has some pretty funny scenes involving incredibly dangerous old men and a not very British Randy.

The music on the show was just excellent this week as well.

(The Office did not air this week.)

I've also been watching Skins: Season 2 (DVD Review here), That 70s Show and Pushing Daises: Season One (I don't get on with Pushing Daisies, but I keep coming back to it and trying again. DVD Review coming soon, short version - I've finally gotten over the irritating narrator.)
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I'm afraid it's less of the comments and mostly just links this week. I'm pressed for time and writing this while I have a short coffee break (well tea break, but whatever).

First of all I missed out on 2GuysTalking's review of Genocide last week because they put it up after I posted my round up. Here it is.

Onto Game Face:

Jason Pinter's recap is up first over here. He has an analysis up at the end of it as well.

Tom R's recap and review is here.

Alan Sepinwall posts his thoughts here.

Eric Goldman's review is over at IGN. I like the sub title this week, it's a hit.

TV Squad's Jonathan Toomey continues with the polls and reviews here.

The imdb synopsis is as detailed as always.

Anyone found anyone else reviewing the show out there on Internet island?
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This week on The Shield Vic, Shane and Ronnie scramble for ground after last weeks revelation while Julien continues to prove his worth as the best damn cop on the Strike Team. Back in the Barn Dutch continues to scratch his serial killer itch while Claudette has to face the past and the facts about her situation...

Read about a Pimps and Hos party, familiar faces and Burnout beyond the link...

I was rather thrilled with the number of familiar faces I saw in this episode, this final season has really brought back a lot of the nostalgia and brought things back big time. I'm left wondering if there is some decision to close the circle much like The Wire is famous for doing so. Perhaps we'll see some horrible symmetry in all this mess before things are over. It would be pretty ironic if Vic got shot dead by a team mate while performing a bust in the house of a perp wouldn't it?

One thing is clear, by this point the cracks in Vic's armour are showing and he's completely oblivious to it all. The man is being eaten up by his own hubris and while it's was obvious to Ronnie a couple of weeks ago it's now become obvious to even Shane. When Shane; the man who lives on an entirely different plane of reality starts worrying about the situation then you know that things are looking grim and when Ronnie is worried as well then the proverbial brown stuff is about to hit the whirling air cooling device for sure. But the problems facing Vic are even larger than Ronnie and Shane realise, not only is the gang war out of control and the box in Acevada's hands but Vic's home life is an utter shambles since Cassidy had an epithany with regards to her father and has managed to collapse Vic's old family while also driving a massive wedge between Danny and Vic with her doubts. The question about Vic's downfall has now expanded into questions about what will break first, where and what will follow, the man is living in a house of cards and the walls are constructed from elements he has almost no control over.

Acevada, Shane, Ronnie, Julien, Pezula, Razien, Cassidy, Danny and Oliva already stand as huge threats to Vic's continued existence and I'm sure there are more pieces to be put into play as we're not even halfway through the season yet. Tavon is still due to make an appearance for example.

As for the Strike Team's work this week, we had some decent solid police work from them which brought a few familiar faces back into the picture again. Burnout was present as was the young lass Dina from previous seasons. It was refreshing to see the guys out working as police especially because this meant Julien got a significant role and another chance to prove just how good he is at his job. The man is the obvious replacement to head up the Strike Team, he just needs a more experience.

Back at the Barn Dutch continues to chase after Lloyd, the lad who shot the school bully in a possibly staged home invasion last week. This brings back another familiar face in the FBI profiler who is brought in to assess Lloyd and determine if he's a potential serial killer. It seems that Dutch is also a victim to his own hubris, he's left chasing possible phantom serial killers

Claudette on the other hand has to face a very real ghost from her past in Kleavon Gardener; this nasty piece of work was fresh in my mind because I recently reviewed the fifth season and had a chance to re-assess him because this time I wasn't left sitting desperately hoping that Lem would make it somehow. He's every bit as unpleasant and manipulative as he was before. He's quite literally able to unhinge Claudette and his clever attack brings her to realise that her lupus is and always will be an issue. Which causes her to act on Dutch's suggestion and bring Danny in as administrative support. While it's not the best use of Danny (she'd make a cracking detective), it is what she needs after the attack earlier this season. It's something they both need.

The culmination of the episode has Vic confronting Olivia about her involvement at which she cracks and admits to everything. It seems that amongst all the danger and threats Vic may have found an ally and possibly a kindred spirit. The final words of their conversation (located at the start of this review) set the tone for a new relationship and angle. It's a possible oasis in the desert for Vic and this is something that he can certainly turn to his advantage.

This review may be expanded on later, but I wanted to put something out because I got delayed in writing this and I have a really busy day tomorrow.

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Life will be one of the TV series which I'll be writing an episodic review of as I'm very fond of the show despite it's apparent underrated status and impending move to the Friday dead zone slot. It's an attractive looking show with a powerful lead in Damian Lewis (WYSW here) and it's shown a lot of promise. In the premiere episode of the second season we have a man who is suspected of suffocating people by locking them in trunks and an amusing scene with ice cream truck driver who's selling more than ice cream.

Read about fruit, zen teachings and an unusual way to use luggage beyond the link...

Fortunately for those people who have either forgotten what's happened in the first season or didn't watch it this episode is designed as a nice easy entry point. The show recaps the important parts of the first season before getting right onto the cases or trunks if you like. It also should be noted that there has been one cast change from the first season Donald Logue has been brought in as Captain Brian Tidwell, as a replacement for Lieutenant Karen Davis (Robin Weigert) - I'm still not clear on the need for the change as Robin was very good in the first season. But ultimately as long as Damian is attached to the project this change is not a huge threat to the consistency of the show.

So, trunks - specifically the ones people have started turning up dead in - it seems that the killer has bought ten of these trunks and the opening scenes establish the victims of three. I'm not sure what happens when this killer runs out of trunks; maybe he stops, maybe he goes shopping for more, maybe he sticks himself in the tenth one. I don't know, because it's not very well thought out, and that's the overall problem with this episode. There is a serial killer who is taking life in an incredibly impersonal and cruel manner, leaving them locked in a tiny, overheated trunk with almost no air and just walking away. But the reason behind his actions at the end is tenuous at best. The way in which he's choosing his victims was solid and the method had a beautifully sinister symmetry to it - they were celebrating very personal events and choosing to share them with others, so he killed them by leaving them alone to die - but I just don't know. It wasn't gripping, things felt a little too convenient.

That's not to say the episode was a total duff, far from it. Damian Lewis continues to craft a character who is complex in every way, Charlie Crews is like a diamond; one stone, many facets. And there are some great scenes in the mix, especially the ice cream truck scene and the bathroom scene that follows it (I'm not tired of the Charlie doesn't get new technology joke yet). But the show cannot hold itself forever on the back of Damian's acting ability, the other characters need to be developed more than they are and brought into the story closer. Ted (Adam Akrin) is excellent as he is, but Donald and Dani both need to be fleshed out more while Constance is involved closer with the story (apart from just the talking head interview she had so far.)

The end of the episode does bring the young lass Rachel potentially into the fold as a character, if Crews and Ted decide to look after her and protect her then there is another relationship to be developed there. Which is something the show really needs. Right now we have a superb lead who is backed by some charismatic actors but the development of those characters isn't strong enough, combine this with any cases that are a little weak (like this one) and the whole package suffers. Damian is amazing, but one man alone isn't enough here.

Hopefully in the following episodes events will be built upon and the show will deepen itself more, if the other characters in the show can be given a depth and sense of reality then Life will be able to move up and become something special. The only other way to go would be by providing a strong case each week with talented guest actors in the witness or suspect roles. I really like Life and I want to see it succeed, but right now I'm not totally sure it will. It really needs to bring an A game with it when it moves to that Friday slot, Homicide struggled there for years and Life is nowhere near the same league as that show. Yet...
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