JulipMarker

Burn Notice was great fun--packed with screeching car chase scenes, plots and capers galore and of course explosions on par with the first RoboCop or Terminator films (after all, Fiona loves to make things go BOOM). Burn Notice also had the added eye candy bonus of being set in the scenic beauty of Miami’s beach seascapes plus colorful faux Cuban bars where meetings and planning for the myriad of capers undertaken by this bedraggled handful of good baddies with their little quirks and their propensity for helping out the underdogs were often had round a good cocktail. And what's not to like about a spy show with a mom who comes in to save the day once in a while? Michael’s mom added a lot of needed lightness and humor as she kept everyone on an even keel. The main character, Michael Weston, along with his band of misfit ex-spies, ex-terrorists and ex-SF military--Jesse, Fiona and Sam--is a fabulous invention that made 7 seasons fly past and left viewers wishing this series had gone on forever. If you have not watched it, you are in for a treat. If you have? Well, a re-viewing awaits!

Switched at Birth is like a really great soap opera with characters that are bound to make everyone think a little bit about themselves--about what family and friends are, about how, why and what motivates us to get a particular job or to make art, about our errors and the millions of ways we might just--like these characters do--keep finding our ways back to what matters the most to each of us. With an extra unexpected aspect of making us also aware of our senses--not just of hearing, but of each of our senses and how our relationships to each other are linked through our senses. Fun, sad, and also motivating--Switched at Birth surprised me, who had only expected a little teeny bopper distraction. It is a show with a wider scope than that, and which is well scripted, engaged politically and socially in reflecting about the kinds of people we are and also those we could be when we find the best versions of ourselves.

Despite some of the worst overacting in season one (it really is amazing this made it past that kitch pilot), Rogue simply got better with time. Again "despite" its own decisions, this time killing off one of the people who could act (Ian Tracy who played the character "Mitch" in season 1), season 2 came back hard with a new look, a solid plot line and a whole new cast of baddies--all of who DO know how to act. So, I give this 3 stars mostly for season one, but would up it to 4 for season 2. Given the great cliffhanger at the end of season 2 and that we are still wondering what will happen with the Lazlo son n°2 (Alec)'s demise, I find I am looking forward to season 3--and perhaps a return to the docks?

Chuck will be sadly missed as it was 5 seasons of great episodes with tons of tiny, explosive surprises erupting in just as many guffaws. Chuck is geekorama pleasure, a peculiar spycrime-comedy with a BuyMore Computer Tech Impressario who suddenly has spy skills, language skills and more downloaded via "the intersect" into his brain making him the ultra asset. To add humor and evident desired suspension of disbelief into the mix, Chuck remains much of the time stuck in the suburbs where, oddly, a lot of international espionage just happens to take place. This is dull job office humor meets internal James Bond fantasy with gadgets, funny friendships and camaraderie galore. Closest ties are with his sister and best friend, but added into the mix after he becomes the intersect are his blond bombshell handler and Casey, the ultra special forces body guard with a soft side. Chuck, of course as it turns out, was always destined by some familial bond plus special neurochemistry to be the intersect, and is part of a long family line of spies. FAB show, ludicrous and tremendously compelling, it is sorely missed. If you have not watched it, DO!

Fun, but a bit of a mixed bag to start out before Marvels Agents of SHIELD found their footing. In fact, the first half of season one seemed plagued by gimmicks, silliness, forced humor (which I admit I enjoyed some of the time too) and transparent plot and chracter development as well as goofy gadgets being collected round the globe. It seemed stuck in a desire to set up who was what, the roles and interactons of the SHIELD group, etc. It was at times pointlessly gadgety, not unlike episodes of Warehouse 13 but where that seems purposeful in Warehouse 13 here it seemed to be happening because the writing, humor, etc was uncertain of where it wanted to go. BUT enter the overall idea of SHIELD being under attack and the potential of course threat to the entire planet and suddenly the group started to coalesce into a ONE and this show began to shine--the affinity and trust of the most trusted and worthy characters became questioned and the most suspicious revealed a trusty side as the plot twisted and turned towards the "Ragtag" group left standing at the end and which we are all anxiously awaiting the return of for season 2. Reconstruction, being the underdog, has won this viewer over, and likely a few others too--and some of the good ol' elements of Marvel classics in the acting, style, even guest appearances in the final episode of season 1 promise better things are still to come next fall. I give this 3 stars here, but more may be about to shine.

I never expected to like a cowboy cop show, but this WY-based Sheriff Longmire has all the best of a gallant, never outspoken cowboy with his trusted friend Henry to provide wisdom, perspective and a bit of "good medicine" as they fight crime and straddle the border between a cowboy town and the res, strengthening the Native American angle in this show. The explorations of character are what make this show so enticing, because there is something about almost every episode that makes the viewer feel like they are stopping in at the Red Pony for a bit of the upbeat cheer with which Henry answers the phone. Even on the worst, hardest days (and days and times are hard out west) connection with a true friend one can trust in any situation, even the most extreme, might just be found at the Red Pony. Of course, outside all of this are the gorgeous landscape panoramas, the sense of being away from urban American and on the cusp of locating another version of that down home American ideal of an alternative "family", made up of misfit friends and coworkers which, as we see with Brandt and Longmire, don't need to thank each other for saving their lives--that is par for the course--but rather, give thanks instead for saving a hat. Nice little moments of humor thus also dot the landscape of this show and make it an enjoyable watch.

I love this show because it is so fabulously awkward. The situations are often embarassingly real. The dialogue is well constructed and delivered with prowess by the actors. "Age, desire and its consistent discomforts" might sum this up well. The characters struggle to find their place both within their own minds and as part of the small town or campus communities that surround them. This is one of those shows you want to turn off, but just can't. Watching is a kind of forbidden pleasure.

This may be my new favorite show. Hilarious & stylish with just a touch of the romantic as club-owner Lucifer on vacation from hell finds himself drawn into Cloe Dancer's life in the crime-fighting, justice-seeking Los Angeles police. Well-written and acted with relish and pizazz by Tom Ellis (as Lucifer), Lauren German (as police detective Chloe Dancer, immune to Lucifer's talents, and trying to figure him out with Scully-like doubt he’s—or anyone is—the devil), D.B. Woodside (as Armenadiel, an angel who insists Lucifer return to his job in hell before his transformation on earth has dangerous consequences for the afterlife) and the fabulous youngster Scarlett Estevez (playing Trixie, Chloe's daughter, and adding great moments of humor as she interacts with Lucifer who she finds hilarious—i.e. when Lucifer tosses her doll for her and says "go fetch").

As for plotline, Lucifer explores fantastic fun twists on the justice issues played out within the framework of the usual procedural police drama for which Bruckheimer's oeuvre is so well known and loved. Lucifer has a saucy, salacious side, too—a touch of the devil from The Master and Margarita (Bulgakov's cult novel) wanting to be bad but also doing good in the process. Lucifer is upsetting the balance(s) of power. As devil on a break, Lucifer tells all—that he’s “Lucifer, the Devil, Beelzebub,”, “immortal” and that he has the power to get people to share with him their “every desire”. The fact that there was no "figure out it is him" was unexpected, and nicely invites into the show the issues of belief and disbelief, as well as the topic of superpowers as working or not, that are typical of superhero comics (I await The Big Bang Theory's jokes on Lucifer vs Daredevil or Supergirl vs Lucifer). The outcome for the balance of power between heaven-hell in the afterlife is a nice ongoing mystery that promises to unravel itself, and to keep viewers coming back for more episodes of Lucifer to find out more. Bravo! Can't wait for next week!

Surprisingly, episode one was not so bad and made me want to come back for more. However, episode two confirmed my suspicions--this has all the makings of a truly terrible (to a laughable degree) B movie TV show. FIRST, the actors: they seem to have been told to pant and speak in breathy whispers with long pauses between single words like "I won't---I can't" to force a sense of drama onto the screen. OR, as in the case of the big shadowhunter, Alec Lightwood, he looks bored half the time (ie outside the "city of bones" where he says in a kind of stoner slo-mo way "I can't be here...anymore...so Jace I'm going to mind the perimeter" Making viewers ask, "Uh, or have another smoke?" SECOND, the plot: OK, it unfolded in a sufficiently intriguing manner in episode one and I liked that the sidekick "mundane" character gets looped in right off the bat, but by the end of episode two it seems overpredictable and silly (with that addition of werewolves and vampires who look like dracula holding the human hostage already I fear what more bad plot-predictable visible "twists" mights be coming). And are we really supposed to be surprised that Clary is Valentine's daughter? THIRD--the make up and "sexy" clothes. A bit over the top all round, but extra for the vamps at the end--with the powdery look and cape-like styles: can't get more B movie than that. FOURTH--Actions like dumb scenes like the wizard in her cage stands by the bars as the "bad guy" approaches with a syringe. I don't know about you, but if I had been her, I would have backed away a bit and thus he could never have reached her! To boot, the scene with the guy with the rune hurting him for talking seemed silly. FIFTH--the settings: so, the secret hideout place in the church might be cool, BUT the choice of Simon having a chit chat on that big Hugh Heffner bed with the "sexy" shadowhunter girl was comic. Really, in their bunker, the bedroom looks like it is straight out of a brothel? If this is supposed to be a kind of hunter base, shouldn't we see cots or beds closer to those in Nikita? And why, if he is getting his first tour of the place and having a snack does that happen in a cushy bedroom? Cantine? Or just by the computer screens seems a better setting. OK, so, I can't say whether I will be back after episode 2. Probably as I like a silly B movie syfy show whenn nothing better is on. But I do hope that the other episodes will be closer to episode one than 2 in quality.

Aesthetically speaking, Zoo is a great show for old Animal Kingdom watchers to enjoy (the photography is excellent). As for the plot, Zoo begins episode by episode a bit like the books one of its authors is known for (James Patterson) and as such, felt a slight bit stilted at first despite the solid acting--however, as the plot lines and character interactions deepen as the show traverses the many continents of the world, Zoo becomes increasingly engaging and exciting to watch. A must see by episode 6, the suspense and questions such as "what's next?", "who is there to trust?" and "will there be a cure?" keep me coming back as the show escalates in excitement and intrigue towards its season conclusion. Zoo is well worth watching.