Can shows truly put their heroes in danger?
The teaser of this week’s Lie to Me ended with the main character, Cal Lightman, seemingly shot dead. There’s been a buzz since the airing that, because there was never any doubt that by the time the end credits rolled the human lie detector would be back on his feet, the drama was all manufactured and, well, empty. Show runner Shawn Ryan has been fielding questions to that point on Twitter. The same sentiment can be found in the comments on Brett’s SG:U post. It begs the question: can television shows ever put their heroes in any realistic danger?
Should have seen the ending coming with The Mentalist’s casting
It wasn’t that long ago that our fearless leader pointed out that, should one cast a Cylon in something, it would be wise to use him. It’s a maxim that has existed for millennium. Okay, more like a couple of months, but the idea has been around forever. Hell, just take a look at every piece of stunt casting the Law & Order franchises have done over the years, and you’ll get what I mean.
So, when Christian Clemenson showed up as Lisbon’s therapist this season, you had to know something was up. Was he going to be a recurring character, there to help out several members of the team like Adam Arkin (The West Wing) and Amy Madigan (Grey’s Anatomy) before him? Or was he going to turn out to be a creep like some of the roles he’s been known for in the past? Last night we found out.
Seven reasons why Josh Lyman is my favorite TV character ever
“It’s the characters, stupid!” I know you’ve heard me say it before: the most important piece of any good drama — be it television, film, literature, or theater — is having good characters. On my favorite show, it’s easy to identify my favorite: Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman … sure he has a different title by show’s end, but this one kind of defines him.
Josh is my favorite because I identify with him the most. I think, from a personality perspective, we are pretty similar (my father always says I’m more like Sam, but lets be honest: is there anyone out there that could compare Sam’s optimism with my … well … me-ism)? So, I’ve put together a list of reasons why Josh would totally be, like, my BFF. Forever.
Leverage is all about the Characters
Someone said to me today that Leverage is perfectly cast, and that’s an assessment that I truly can’t argue with. The show has a brilliantly put together group of actors, who are asked to do some pretty heavy lifting each week, what with the different characters they are asked to play. Not only the badass Thief, Grifter, Hitter, Hacker, and Mastermind that are their true personas, but the characters that they have to play each week as a part of the con.
Since about half way through the first season, even Parker and Hardison have been getting into the action. While it doesn’t necessarily fit their announced expertise, you’d have to expect that, when they were working alone, they had to work out of their comfort zone (though, Parker? Maybe not so much). As Team Leverage continues, though, the cross utilization becomes more and more a part of the story, and more and more fun as well.
Diary of a Moonlight virgin: Deaths, kidnappings, and vampire slackers
(Season One, Episode 11 & 12)
A whole lot of plot development occurred in these two episodes. I’m finally rid of Josh (though, now I’m not so sure it’s a good thing), and we get a glimpse of what the real Coraline might be. Just a couple of episodes left before the shortened end of the show, and I’m starting to see why people talked about the grander arc that was beginning to be developed.
“Love Lasts Forever”
Funny story (well, funny to me): I’m visiting my family for the Fourth, and my mom was around when I watched this episode (She was a BIG Moonlight fan). When the teaser started, and Mick was ‘working out’ (because really, who does pull ups using stairs), she made the comment, “Great opening scene.” By the time the boyfriend got jumped by the creeps intimidating him to drop his case, I felt the exact same way.
True Blood – The secondary characters shine
“Scratches” (Season 2, Episode 3)
I spent most of last week talking about how boring I find Bill, and how much I love Lafayette. I think what it goes to show is that as much as I like this show, it’s less for the main relationship as it is for all the relationships between the secondary characters (Though I still love Anna Paquin’s Sookie Stackhouse … As Jane said over at TV Squad, “She’s got spunk.”). Producer Alan Ball has done a excellent job crafting these characters and putting them in interesting situations.
NBC’s Trauma just rocked my socks off
NBC’s new fall series, Trauma, seemingly has a similar log line to shows the network has featured in the past. It’s a little bit ER, some Saved, and a whole lot of Third Watch. Truthfully, I didn’t know much about the new show other than the cast included one of my favorite up and coming actors, Kevin Rankin (Friday Night Lights), and that it was about an EMS service and ER based in a metropolitan area. After having seen the pilot episode, I’ve got to say it is a show I’m going to be paying a lot more attention to.
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