The Closer

By podcast@mail2tv.com (RikerDonegal) 05.30 Cougar Town 06.00 The Closer 07.00 House 08.00 Castle Cougar Town. Episode 3. "Don't Do Me Like That" 10th date jitters. The Closer. Season 5, Episode 9. "Identity Theft" Brenda suspects that a murderer's confession is false, and she finds herself playing 'mother' for the first time. Sosie Bacon joins the cast and makes a great first impression as a 'daughter' for Brenda. I immediately liked the character and feel that this will be good for the show. House. Season 6, Episode 4. "Instant Karma" Rich guy, with sick kid. Castle. Season 2, Episode 4. "Fool Me Once" Con man. More, please!! Highlight? Castle (a blast) Yet Another TV Review Podcast Yet Another TV Review Book Yet Another Film Review Blog Follow Me on Twitter One Year Ago   [read the full post]

By RikerDonegal(podcast@mail2tv.com) Cougar Town. Episode 2. "Into the Great Wide Open" The Closer. Season 5, Episode 8. "Elysian Fields" Cold case. Tom Skerritt guests as an ex-cop breaking rules to try and solve an old case that haunts him. Brenda must repeatedly cross swords with him, however (thanks to flashbacks to an episode from last season) we can see that Brenda is, herself, haunted by an unresolved case from her past. It's a nice contrast and the script (by Michael Alaimo) doesn't beat it to death. It's there. We can see it. But it has no other bearing on the story. House. Season 6, Episode 3. "The Tyrant" House returns to work. Arrested Development. Season 3, Episode 7. "Prison Break-In" Castle. Season 2, Episode 3. "Inventing the Girl" Model.   [read the full post]

By RikerDonegal(podcast@mail2tv.com) 05.00 Cougar Town 05.30 The Closer 01.00 House 02.00 Castle The Closer. Season 5, Episode 7. "Strike Three" Brenda and Raydor clash while investigating cop deaths involving the shooting of a civillian. The final conversation between Raydor and Brenda is worth the price of admission. House. Season 6, Episode 2. "Epic Fail" Foreman takes charge, and must deal with a patient constantly posting his symptoms on the Internet. And we did. He did. I yawned. Castle. Season 2, Episode 2. "The Double Down" Castle makes a bet with two other detectives, as to who can solves their respective case first. Highlight? The Closer (Mary McDonnell) Yet Another TV Review Podcast Yet Another TV Review Book Yet Another Film Review Blog Follow Me on Twitter One Year Ago   [read the full post]

By RikerDonegal(podcast@mail2tv.com) 06.00 Accidentally On Purpose 06.30 The Closer 09.00 House 11.00 Castle Accidentally On Purpose. Episode 1. "Pilot" Billie gets pregnant from a one-night stand. Almost. The Closer. Season 5, Episode 6. "Tapped Out" Fake cop. House. Season 6, Episode 1. "Broken" Castle. Season 2, Episode 1. "Deep in Death" Highlight? The final scene was superb. I've watched it more than once. When they do stuff like that, I feel that the writers have a wonderful handle on these characters and are intent on delivering a realistic and mature couple. Highlight? House (Hugh Laurie and Andre Braugher) Yet Another TV Review Podcast Yet Another TV Review Book Yet Another Film Review Blog Follow Me on Twitter One Year Ago   [read the full post]

By RikerDonegal(podcast@mail2tv.com) 06.00 Flashpoint 07.00 The Closer 11.30 The Incredible Hulk Flashpoint. Episode 19. "Remote Control" Bank robbery; wife taken hostage. How do they do it? The Closer. Season 5, Episode 5. "Half Load" Good guy shot in a bad neighbourhood. The ending is a tad over the top (saved somewhat by Flynn's sour demeanor) but this is yet anther strong episode. And a good episode for Sanchez who does some mighty clever detective work to kickstart the investigation. I like the way the show uses it's large cast and (in this episode) brings back some recurring/previous characters and makes good use of them, too. The Incredible Hulk. Episode 10. "Life and Death" by James Parriott of Defying Gravity.   [read the full post]

By RikerDonegal(podcast@mail2tv.com) 05.00 Arrested Development 08.00 The Incredible Hulk 09.00 The Closer 01.00 NewsRadio Arrested Development. Season 2, Episode 18. "Righteous Brothers" The Closer. Season 5, Episode 4. "Walking Back the Cat" Fritz asks Brenda to do him a small favour. Quietly. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. A side-splittingly hilarious episode of The Closer where all of the comedy is driven by the characters. The chemistry between Brenda and Fritz drives much of the laughter, the chemistry between Provenza and, well, everybody else, drives the rest... NewsRadio. Season 3, Episode 13. "Led Zeppelin Boxed Set" Matthew inadvertently hits Bill, and becomes... King Of The Office.   [read the full post]

By podcast@mail2tv.com (RikerDonegal) 05.00 Better Off Ted 05.30 The Closer 06.30 Flashpoint 01.00 The Incredible Hulk The Closer. Season 5, Episode 3. "Red Tape" Did Gabriel shoot an unarmed kid? The Closer takes one of the most often-used storylines of TV cop shows and turns it into pure gold. While the mechanics of the case were a bit basic and a bit lame, the character aspects of the story were simply superb. The complex relationship between Brenda and Gabriel got a major going over in this one and it was a joy to watch. Flashpoint. Episode 18. "The Perfect Family" Kidnapped baby. Consistently remarkable television. The Incredible Hulk. Episode 8. "The Hulk Breaks Las Vegas"   [read the full post]

By podcast@mail2tv.com (RikerDonegal) Andy Richter Controls The Universe. Episode 1. "Pilot" Andy is forced to share his office with a new guy called Byron and he schemes to get Byron fired... Hilarious. Michael Paul Chan (of The Closer) makes his first appearance as Judge Ping and Henry Winkler gets the biggest laugh (for me) when he enters as their lawyer and tells the Bluths that he's been delayed because he had another hearing but, good news, he thinks he'll get off. The first episode zips along very nicely as the characters adjust to their first morning sharing a floor together. It's a strong cast and each one nicely carves a niche for themselves as the action moves rapidly from squabble to squabble.   [read the full post]

By podcast@mail2tv.com (RikerDonegal) 10.30 Royal Pains 11.30 The Closer 12.30 NewsRadio Royal Pains. Episode 2. "There Will Be Food" Ballerina keeps fainting. Lots to like here. 1. Hank is a genuine nice guy hero. One character describes him as the Robin Hood of medicine at one point and it fits. Considerable kudos to Mark Feuerstein for pulling this off. A lesser performer might not have been able to make us like Hank as he runs around saving the world and being everybody's best friend. But Feuerstein makes it work, even in these cynical times. The Closer. Season 5, Episode 2. "Blood Money" Rich guy kidnapped. NewsRadio. Season 3, Episode 9. "Stocks" Mr. James offers Beth some stock tips.   [read the full post]

By podcast@mail2tv.com (RikerDonegal) 09.00 Royal Pains 11.00 The Closer 12.30 NewsRadio 01.00 Greek Royal Pains. Episode 1. "Pilot" A doctor is blacklisted and moves... The Closer. Season 5, Episode 1. "Products of Discovery" An entire family is killed. By mistake. The closing moments of this episode go to the very core of why this is such a fantastic show, and why Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson is truly one of television's best ever detectives/characters. These two sides of her (imperfect) nature are why fans love Brenda so much. NewsRadio. Season 3, Episode 8. "Movie Star" James Caan visits. Greek. Season 2, Episode 4. "Gays, Ghosts and Gamma Rays" Casey likes Max. Rusty investigates a mysterious Kappa Tau member.   [read the full post]

By RikerDonegal(podcast@mail2tv.com) 07.30 The Big Bang Theory 08.00 The Closer 09.00 House Amusing example of one of the show's oft-used plots: Sheldon's quirky ways annoy the others. The opening ten minutes are the best: Sheldon forces Penny into giving him a lift to work. Once he sets about learning to drive the humour is more predictable and less specific to these characters and this show. Lots of past sitcoms (Perfect Strangers and Taxi spring to mind) have shown us what happens when quirky characters learn to drive (or navigate the hallways of the DMV). The Closer. Season 4, Episode 15. "Double Blind" Brenda works a robbery/murder case on the day of her wedding. House. Season 5, Episode 15. "Unfaithful" Sick priest.   [read the full post]

By RikerDonegal(podcast@mail2tv.com) The Closer. Season 4, Episode 14. "Fate Line" Text messages on an abandoned phone point to murder. House. Season 4, Episode 14. "The Greater Good" Thirteen is sick. Not only is this a good episode, it's a bloody great episode. The stories are good (Thirteen is sick, and the patient-of-the-week is interesting) and most of the regular characters get some solid work on their characters. The House/Cuddy prank war says a lot about both of them, Wilson's past with Amber is mentioned in an insightful way, Taub's home life is highlight and the Foreman/Thirteen romance drives most of the episode. Damn, wish all the episodes were this good. NewsRadio. Season 3, Episode 7. "Daydream" Everyone has daydreams on a hot day.   [read the full post]

By RikerDonegal(podcast@mail2tv.com) 06.30 The Big Bang Theory 07.00 CSI 08.00 Greek 09.00 The Closer 10.00 Lie To Me The Big Bang Theory. Season 2, Episode 2. "The Codpiece Topology" Leonard dates Leslie. CSI. Season 6, Episode 8. "A Bullet Runs Through It, Part Two" The teams continues to deal with the overwhelming evidence in the aftermath of the gun battle. And Gil figures out who shot the police officer. Greek. Episode 22. "Spring Broke" The gang head to the beach. The Closer. Season 4, Episode 13. "Power of Attorney" The suspect's clever lawyer is, himself, the suspect's partner in crime. Highlight? The Closer (clever) Yet Another TV Review Podcast Yet Another TV Review Book Yet Another Film Review Blog   [read the full post]

By RikerDonegal(podcast@mail2tv.com) 06.30 The Big Bang Theory 07.00 CSI 08.00 Greek 09.00 The Closer 12.00 NewsRadio The Big Bang Theory. Episode 16. "The Peanut Reaction" The gang plan a surprise party for Leonard (who's never had a birthday party). Solid episode. CSI. Season 6, Episode 7. "A Bullet Runs Through It" Brass and Curtis are part of huge gun battle that Gil and the team must investigate. The Closer. Season 4, Episode 11. "Good Faith" A death, previously ruled a suicide, is now being investigated as a murder. Which requires a delicate touch. So, obviously, they gave the case to Brenda... NewsRadio. Season 3, Episode 5. "Halloween" The gang dress up for Jimmy's Halloween party.   [read the full post]

By RikerDonegal(podcast@mail2tv.com) The Closer. Season 4, Episode 10. "Time Bomb" Teenagers plan to go on a killing spree in this untypical episode. One of them is dead before the episode starts (it is his death that starts the investigation) and a second one is dead in police custody by the mid-part of the episode. After that, the police assume that the threat is over. But the script leaves enough questions unanswered to keep the viewer (and Brenda) unconvinced. The tension builds until most of the regular characters are caught in the middle of a long, graphic gun battle. Slow-motion violence is not normally what you expect to see on The Closer, but when they go this route they really pull out all the stops. It's stunning television. And makes for a great cliffhanger when Sanchez takes t...   [read the full post]

By RikerDonegal(podcast@mail2tv.com) 07.00 The Closer 08.00 CSI 09.00 Prison Break 11.15 NewsRadio The Closer. Season 4, Episode 9. "Tijuana Brass" Surely this is one of the show's cleverest endings ever? Brenda sends the bad guy to prison under the wrong name. She uses the name of the man that he has marked for death. And when he is killed (which we learn in the closing seconds) it means that his intended victim is free to start a new life with new name. Clever Brenda. CSI. Season 6, Episode 4. "Shooting Stars" It doesn't look or feel like a CSI episode. Gil and Catherine follow tracks (from a crime scene) out into the desert and find themselves exploring a vast underground complex. With 11 dead bodies. From a cult.   [read the full post]

By noreply@blogger.com (RikerDonegal) Harry O. "Such Dust as Dreams Are Made On" Mixed bag. While there are elements of greatness here, there is no real indication of the great television series that would follow and I can understand why this (first) pilot was not picked up in 1973. What makes this worth watching (and re-watching) is the central performance of David Janssen as Harry Orwell: the actor is superb and the script gives him a superb character to play with. Orwell is more world weary than any other private eye that television has given us, and Janssen ensures that this is conveyed by every word and gesture that the detective makes. He rides the bus, has a bullet lodged in him and is more of a womanizer than other TV heroes. But he's all the more real for it. The story is good but meand...   [read the full post]

By RikerDonegal(noreply@blogger.com) The Closer. Season 4, Episode 7. "Sudden Death" A very sad episode (and a great performance from Raymond Cruz) as the brother of one of the best dressed cops on TV gets shot down in the street near his house. The episode tells a good story and delivers are lot of great moments for several of the characters. It's one of those outings where we get to observe the whole team in a moment of crisis and it's fascinating to watch how everyone reacts to Sanchez and to see who reaches out to him and how. The Closer has a great ensemble, but it's not an ensemble show and episodes like this make me wish that it was. Highlight? The Closer (sad) Yet Another TV Review Podcast Yet Another TV Review Book   [read the full post]

By RikerDonegal(noreply@blogger.com) 01:00 The Closer 02:00 House 08:00 Columbo 10:00 90210 11:00 Beverly Hills 90210 The Closer. Season 4, Episode 6. "Problem Child" Dark stuff. He might only be 13 but the child at the centre of this story is a disturbed individual. He's the victim. And, as the team investigates, they discover that a lot of people had a lot of very good reasons for wanting him dead. In many ways it's more like a Without A Trace episode than an episode of The Closer, because the story really paints a full picture of the victim and who he was. Superb storytelling. Only on House! Highlight? The Closer (dark story) Yet Another TV Review Podcast Yet Another TV Review Book   [read the full post]