(Season 4, Episodes 7-10)

Some weird black and white recreations/flashbacks were going on in these episodes, as well as in episode 4.6, and I hope it’s not a new thing. It felt very Cold Case, only that’s not what this show is about. If no one in the courtroom gets to see these things during trial, what do we need them for?

Six episodes with Richard Bay (Jason Kravits) down; only 25 more to go!

4.7 “Victimless Crimes”

Interesting episode title, considering the two cases of the week were Jimmy defending a woman accused of murdering her rapist, and Bobby defending his cousin, a dentist who bit Lucy on the breast while she was anesthetized. Read the rest of this entry »

(Season 2, Episodes 2-3)

Season two continues to march on, and Carnivale continues to be interesting and compelling. The relationship drama that had me a little bored toward the end of season one seems to have cooled off, but the character development remains, which is nice.

I’m really enjoying the play between Brother Justin and Tommy Dolan. Dolan is an interesting character. It’s clear that he knows that Justin is somewhat dangerous and that he probably shouldn’t be getting involved with him. At the same time, however, the overly ambitious reporter just can’t help himself. As I watch this show and Heroes, I’m amazed at how different Robert Knepper looks and sounds in the two roles.

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(Season 4, Episodes 4-6)

Three types of clients appear on The Practice: the one-off jokesters, the multiple-episode-arc accused, and the repeat customers. A lot of the first group are lightweights, though I suppose that makes sense. The middle category has yielded some interesting television, and I’m sure it will continue to do so — those trials are generally the sensational ones. But for some reason, this show has the most love for the third group of clients. Shows definitely should not live in a bubble, but just how realistic is it that so many people keep on walking back into the offices of Donnell and Associates?

4.4 “Legacy”

This time it was Ray Oz (James Whitmore), fighting his wife Joanne (Bonnie Bartlett) over her plight to be named his conservator. Clearly Ray was worse than he was when first on the show, and clearly Bobby was going to ignore all of the signs. Read the rest of this entry »

(Season 2, Episode 1)

I’m on to the second (and final!?!) season of Carnivale now, somehow finding time to squeeze episodes in even though we’re in the middle of the November sweeps. So far, it seems like things are going to be kicking into high gear if the first episode is any indication. I certainly hope that’s the case because there are only twelve episodes left, and there is a whole lot of story left to tell.

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(Season 5, Episodes 1-3)

(Season 5, Episode 1 “Wonderful Wonderful”)

The only thing I found surprising about this episode was that it’s taken her family this long to abandon Nancy. I would have assumed they would have just cut their losses a while ago. Even Shane, whose voice is just now changing, would probably be healthier, happier, and safer taking care of himself instead of being under Nancy’s “supervision.” Wait, I’m sorry. There was one other thing that surprised me: the fact that Nancy actually seems to own a pair of pants. Read the rest of this entry »

(Season 1, Episode 12)

I’ve finished the first season of Carnivale. It was a great set of twelve episodes, but mostly, I’m excited to get into season two to find out what is going to happen, and learn a little bit more about the nature of Management, Ben, Brother Justin, and Henry Scudder. Hopefully the relationship merry-go-round will slow down a bit, too. As I mentioned in my previous entry, I felt it was getting a little tiresome.

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(Season 4, Episodes 1-3)

I’m still trying to figure out the timeline of the beginning of this season versus the end of the last. It’s long enough that Lindsay’s out of the hospital, but short enough that she’s still feeling the physical scars of her attack. Considering that the perpetrator is still out there, and that this was a crime that involved an ADA’s best friend, the arrest of a judge, and the death of a known criminal, hopefully they didn’t just wait the four month summer hiatus to pick things up again. Can we trust that the criminal justice system in Boston is more efficient than that?

4.1 “Free Dental”

Only Fonzie (Henry Winkler) could be sympathetic as a dentist with a bug fetish, accused of murdering a patient. Well, maybe not sympathetic, but less than cringe-worthy, so at least a step in the right direction that no one else could have managed. The entire case was a bit odd for a season premiere (and what was with the grape jelly angle?), and I wasn’t quite sure why Bobby AND Lindsay had to be there to help Jimmy. Do they just always come as a pair now? Read the rest of this entry »