JulipMarker

There is a lot of after school special level acting taking place here, and a kind of visual and scene flatness that makes the show hard to not to roll your eyes at sometimes. Yet the overall exploration of the concept of a society of people with and without powers and how that shapes their potential psychological and social lives remains compelling for those of us who are die hard fans of the comix/marvel/Heroes genre. overall, however this unoverse is still too flat and superficial and staid to make me get behind it.

A little touch of superhero, a little touch of police procedural and a nice pinch of sitcom humor makes this a show worth watching. In fact, if there was ever a show to revive, this would be it. Although the writers stumbled a bit early on in the only season of this show in establishing a fun, intriguing overall plot behing the mystery of "John Doe"--this man who knows every fact, language and muscle-memory related skill (ie jujitsu, playing piano or guitar or driving a racecar)--they picked it up as the season drew closer and closer to its end, adding in an element of the "psychic" capacity of opening up the brain's untapped resources. The friendships (both bonding and betrayal) and trials and tribulations of John are engaging and appealing on a human level, making this a show one can reflect on lightly and enjoy. But most of all JD's "extra-human" skills are great to watch and think about in the computer age. As the season "closes" there is a fabulous twist which makes this viewer cry out "MORE PLEASE!" and perhaps instead of stealing all the Swedish and Danish shows in order to locate good plot options, returning to JD and reviving this untapped series' potential for a second season could be a great direction for American TV to take.

This show gets better with each episode, finding its own stride as it manipulates the twists and turns of the alternate pasts and futures that it explores. The characters and their interactions also gain interest momentum as secrets, trust and significance to the overall outcome for the human race become apparent. Visually increasingly exciting too--for example the FABULOUS special effects during the most recent episode's hallucination scenes with the red forest and house with moments of sprouting emerging from the cement floor of the warehouse. One to definitely delve into and a great flashback to the original film. This show IS doing its own thing, and yet makes one remember the fireworks and tension of that original fabulous film.

Dark, well-acted, tough--Ray Donovan is a show that hooks its watchers and keeps them coming back to see how each member of this chic-thug family will get into or out of another tangle. The key? Human flaws--which even those of us who are not "fixers" have. This exploration of what makes the Donovans' tick is certainly a show worth tuning in for.

As shows with characters with really offbeat quirks go, this modern Jekyll and Hyde neurosurgeon with dangerous alter ego is a great premise. The actor, Steven Pasquale, does a solid job convincingly playing two selves which are extremely different but also convincingly obsessed with the same thing in the end--some version of acceptance and normality, for Jason this means ridding himself of Ian so he might have a normal life and find love, for Ian this is a potential contact with his son and thus again love, perhaps even winning back the woman both selves knew and loved ages ago. But as the only season of this show progresses, the struggle between this character's two sides throws everyone out of whack and the dominant personality, self, remains to be revealed--as well as, potentially, the original lost self that has led to this double self. A wacky ride which was fun, though perhaps if it had sought out a bit more originality and thus did not have so much of what one keeps seeing in all of these "doctors gone bad" shows (from House to Rush to Black Box), meaning out of control bipolar extremes, drug use, and suspension-of-belief levels of irresponsibility in the work place, then perhaps the show would have warranted a renewal.

Gotta like great wings, no? These are really, really fun wings and when they flap or glint or act as a shield against bullets they really are quite spectacular. The acting, however, is a bit stilted in parts and the plot seems to be wending all over the place trying to locate itself a bit. Are we in a clearly post apocalyptic war with the angels, or a chosen one conflict of faiths? Love seeing old Buffy star, Gilles, back, and as such an unpleasant character--and loved his burning down the religious sect that had made him suffer so. But what, with all of these amazing skills to kill, maim, possess, etc has held Gabriel back? With those fabulously creepy 8 balls and his flock of followers, shouldn't he have just taken over or killed off everyone ages ago? I guess this show is asking a lot of suspension of disbelief based on the strengths they have provided their "bad angel", and I would love some of those reasons for holding back to perhaps be unveiled in a deeper plotline as this show moves, hopefully, towards a season 2 renewal.

I do enjoy a goold ol' cop show with all the predictable fixings plus a nice character quirk (ie amazing memory). Seasons 1-2 of Unforgettable fit the bill and were a lot of fun to watch. Season 3 however seems weighted down with poor writing, asking the actors to flirt at what feel like inappropriate moments or ways (commenting on the 6 pack of a cadaver, for example) or including scenes which feel like filler (ie Carry showing off her memory skills to people in various neighborhoods). In fact, the threaded development of the lead actors has felt increasingly forced. Luckily, episode 6 of season three revived a bit of excitement and moved the characters forward when Al became a suspect. But I would like to see some smarter writing, and for the director to stop asking Carry to act flirty like a tiny girl and rather get her into a scene where we can see her as truly sensual in a mature woman way. She is not Brenda from The Closer, so put her in scenes where we see Carry as that Carry from seasons one and two--with that gambling habit that bites her in the ass--and perhaps some ways she tries to get out of it?

Excellent first season a bit reminiscent of charmed with a greater mother-daughter-cool cat with 9 lives element. Season two is exploring a darker side, more monsters and less basic bonding and witchcraft. Certainly, it keeps one returning to check up on how the plot is developing. The characters are maturing and adapting to their changing situations in intriguing ways.