Couchbound/Continued #366 - The Blacklist, "James Spader's Ultron Audition."

Ever since it was added to Netflix's stream a few months ago after its first season finished, I've been watching the Blacklist in sporadic bursts of morbid fascination and am always pushed away again by its extreme cheesiness and melodrama.

Like a bad Ludlum or Patterson novel, The Blacklist is a geopolitical procedural that features James Spader (Stargate, Secretary) as its main draw, the anti-hero criminal mastermind Raymond Reddington who, for reasons always hinted at but never outright said, is paternally obsessed with rookie FBI profiler Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone, who previously cut her teeth on the ill-fated Blue Bloods and Law & Order:LA).

Honestly, Spader is the only thing that has managed to keep me coming back for these three to four episode bursts that I go through before the sheer ridiculousness over the overarching spy plot and revolving door of supporting character deaths. While not quite up to the levels of 24, there are still a lot of compelling characters who are burdened with rather pointless kills.

But... that's kind of the beauty of it.

No one is really safe, whether you're a new love interest introduced just an episode before or an active and helpful ally to one of the leads who has been a background figure hour after hour... unless you're Red or Elizabeth, you're just a waiting victim of the capriciousness of fate (or the writer's room or your agent's negotiating power).

Still, it wears after a while, which is why Spader is the only element of The Blacklist that is truly interesting and, oddly, redeeming. Red is often cold, calculating, and mercenary, but he exhibits a streak of honor and warmth, particularly when it comes to his immediate cohorts and Elizabeth, that makes him the catchiest character on television in recent years. Despite the great work that folks like Mikkelsen, Spacey, and even McConaughey have done of late, it's James Spader in this schlock drek that has me watching.

Of the regular characters that are still going at my current episode count (which I will NOT disclose in order to avoid kill spoilers), I have to say that Elizabeth's often suspected husband is a bland storyline that I can't wait to see quickly finished.

Also her "by the book" partner who has a "dark side" is more than a little annoying as well. I'd rather have more from Psych's Parminder Nagra. Her often secretive CIA agent is primed for more intrigue, but they barely use her (at least, so far) in any interesting capacity. If the current trend of writing goes, she'll be outed and offed as a double (no, triple... NO! QUADRUPLE!) agent here in a single episode sometime in the near future. Oh well.

Can I recommend The Blacklist?

Hmm... that's a tough one. I enjoy it (in small doses), but it really isn't all that great a show overall. It does feature several decent recurring roles, most of whom die off with shocking regularity, my favorite being Lance Reddick (who I loved on Fringe). If you're a big fan of faux-actiony procedurals like NCIS or Bones, The Blacklist is a lot more fun and darker, but despite James Spader's charisma, there are much better shows out there... and more than a few of them are on Netflix.

Until later, Potatoes~

Day Three Hundred and Twenty-one - Leverage: Season 1, Episode 4, "Preachy Miracle Blues"

You know, I want to love Leverage... the problem is, several episodes in, I think I'm only ever going to be in "like mode" with the series.

It has a hippish jazz soundtrack that heavily features the bass line, is very much in tune with the "punish the corporate overloads" zeitgeist of income disparity America, and manages to pull off most of its capers (at least the ones we've seen for far) in forty minutes of "To Catch A Thief" theatrics. There's just the right amount of intra-team rivalries and friendships, none of the bad guys are ever all that sympathetic, and there's a soft wit that pervades but doesn't overpower... but therein lie some of Leverage's weaknesses.

Take this episode, for example. Billed as a personal job for an old friend of Nate's, The Miracle Job is about trying to scam a manic real estate developer into giving up his plans to first tear down a church... and then stop him from turning the "miracle" they used to scare him off into a religious themed amusement park which is just so off the scales ridiculous, that the episode loses me right there.

I mean, seriously, it felt like I was watching an updated version of The A-Team what with all of its melodramatic villains and corny solutions... and, in a way, Leverage is just that, only transplanted into the modern day and without the US Army making a bumbling chase in the background.

Not that I don't mind seeing DB Sweeney make a guest appearance as the priest, but I've seen him in too many roguish roles to take him seriously as a man of the cloth (rather like how Ray Wise can never do the same in Psyche, as hard as he tries).

There are a few good points to the episode, though... early on, when Nate visits his preacher friend in the hospital, there's an intercom announcement in the background that is a nice, subdued reference to his son dying previous to the series. Also, there's finally a direct mention of the tension between Nate and Sophie, which anyone can see in just about every episode, considering how much they try and emphasize the chemistry.

Still, despite its occasional strengths, Leverage is just an "alright" series, never burgeoning on genius or compelling. It's the kind of show that you can easily have on in the background and never really care about. Sure, it's fun... but ultimately, it's just generic and sterile and, well, empty. It's not bad, but it will never be great, I think.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Three Hundred and Fifteen - Exile: Episode 1, "Conspiracy, Disease, Family, Homecoming."

Holy Crap! This one snuck up on me!

Such a busy day with so much to do and so little time to do it in, I still managed to tear myself away from work and other responsibilities to sit down to Chinese takeout and Exile from BBC One... and man, was it worth it.

The opening moments have you reeling from a career and, well, life thrown down the toilet when main character Tom (John Sim) must flee his posh existence in London and return to the country where his sister is caring for their Alzheimer's-affected father (Jim Broadbent). While he's there, old demons haunt him amid the new realities of caring for his demented father and the story becomes one of reopening old wounds while dealing with the new ones.

Let me first say that this is some powerfully compelling storytelling. Tom is no saint and its established very early on how complex and flawed his character is. The same is eventually revealed about his father through a combination of flashbacks and present day revelations.

Stretching the moments between are rather poignant bits of weakness and connection as Tom hooks up with an old acquaintance, realizes she's married to his old best mate from school, and has to deal with the fallout of that while trying to piece together a mystery that begins to present itself in the form of old memories, taped confessions, and a steady stream of payments nobody knows anything about in hidden bank accounts.

This is really good television, and I'll be shocked if it doesn't get play over here in the States. It's on Netflix, now, of course, but I haven't heard of it turning up on BBC America yet or PBS (I'll have to search for that later).

The cinematography is pretty high grade, almost feature-level, and the acting is quite tremendous... especially from its two leads. I think I'd love Jim Broadbent in anything, but I'm pretty convinced by his portrayal of Alzheimer's (save for a bit of awkwardness in the beginning that comes off a little rehearsed). Still, kudos to him and John Simm who has just as much, if not more, intensity when it comes to his par.

If you haven't seen Exile and are looking for smart and emotive drama that plays with both ethics and family ties, check it out immediately. One of the best shows I've seen in a long time.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Three Hundred and Thirteen - Leverage: Pilot, "It Takes A Thief Meets the A-Team... Week to Week."

I've been on a pilot kick recently, for two reasons: first, with NaNoWriMo eating up the majority of my time, I really don't have time for movies, and second, instead of just going down the list of one particular series, I want to give the blog a variety of different programs. Granted, so far, it seems to be either Anime or Adventure series, but still... due diligence. I'll try and slide in a few documentary or reality shows this coming week, but today it's another modern actioner... Leverage.

Part of TNT's lineup of feel good action-dramas, Leverage rides the fine line between black hats and vigilante justice as a former insurance investigator rounds up half a dozen of his former adversaries to take down corrupt individuals and corporations who have beaten down regular folk like us. Like the A-Team, Mission:Impossible, and It Takes a Thief, each weekly episode covers a confidence job set to balance the scales between the evil takers and the little folk they've wronged through the use of the specialist skills of each team member, be they cat burglars, grifters, hackers, etc..

In this first episode, the team is assembled at the behest of a supposedly wronged aerospace engineer who convinces team leader Nate (Timothy Hutton) to take down a high profile competitor by making it personal. I say "supposedly" because, after the job is done, the engineer double-crosses them... revealing that he was the corrupt big bad all along.

I do like the series, for several reasons.

First of all, as evidenced in this and every other episode, Leverage plays for the little guy. It's a feel good show that feeds on my innate desire stick it to the man through superior mental skills. A very "nyah, nyah, we got you" sort of juvenile fantasy.

Second, it definitely banks on its cool factor. Whether it's the hip jazz soundtrack or the very Ocean's Eleven mentality when it comes to cinematography and pacing, Leverage keeps its quirky stable of characters amped with style and likability. You don't just want them to succeed, you want to watch them exude that certain je ne sais quoi as they go from first act setup to second act false finish to third act "we had you all along." It's very formulaic and predictable, but fun... all to smokey club tunes that sit well with an Old Fashioned.

Finally, I like how its packaged. Like other episodic adventures that were mentioned previously, its a bite-sized adventure that gives you a gamut of emotions over the course of the forty to fifty minutes or so of content. There's mild tension where necessary and satisfying comeuppance in the climax and falling action when the tricks and misdirects are revealed. Sure, it's beyond predictable, but that's sort of pleasing in its own way.

If you're into these sorts of episodic, feel good actioners, Leverage definitely works. The pilot here establishes everyone in a balanced fashion and gives you a satisfying series of twists and turns. Worth watching for groundbreaking content? Probably not, but it is the kind of series that is easy to have on in the background, good for its palliative effects after a long day of being ground down by the system.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Fifty-seven - The Naked Gun, "Is anyone ELSE here sleeping with this man's wife?"

While it's fairly safe to admit that, when the series wore on, the humor got stale, the villains trite, and the gags less than fresh, the original Naked Gun still brings it home and is definitely the best of the three. There's just something about the way it remains innocent and not too self-aware and winking at the audience... something that it overdid in its sequels.

Nominally set in Los Angeles, the home of the Police Squad series that spawned it, The Naked Gun begins with a cold opener in Beirut where the leaders of the enemies of America are all conveniently in one room. Where Hot Shots played it safe and only went after Saddam, TNG manages to corral Yasser Arafat, Ayatollah Khomeni, Idi Amin, Gaddafi, and Gorbachev into a Star-Spangled fantasy sequence of American Kick-Ass Exceptionalism... where Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) pummels them mercilessly for plotting against us.

USA! USA! USA!

It's a farce, but also a sign of the times as Cold War fears were beginning to fade in the era of Glasnost. (It's also hilarious that, when Frank runs out of Dictators to beat on, generic white guy stuntmen in cheap suits begin to show up).

Anyways, past the cold opener we're treated to OJ Simpson getting nearly murdered as many ways as possible, almost as if it were a comedic recreation of the Death of Rasputin (or Vigo the Carpathian). I must admit, it feels a little cathartic in light of his track record in later years.

It seems Nordberg (Simpson) stumbled onto one of arch-villain Ludwig's (Ricardo Montalban) criminal plots and Khan wanted the bumbling officer rubbed out. Unfortunately for Ludwig, it only puts Frank and the Police Squad onto his trail. This leads to an investigation where Frank meets the love of his life... who is played by Priscilla Presley, a wholesome secretary who is inadvertently caught up in Ludwig's plot to kill Queen Elizabeth at a baseball game.

It's all silly fun laced with innuendo, sight gags, and pratfalls... not quite the loving send up to Noir that Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid was, but also not a soulless, dime-a-dozen parody movie of the likes that have been churned out the past twenty years or so. It's hard to imagine how anyone survives in this universe, where airbags cause cars to careen wildly on their own and alleged real life murderers can survive dozens of shots (and burns and a bear trap).

I really love Ricardo Montalban... he's always a good villain and had a tremendous sense of melodrama, always playing it straight even when he delivered the hammiest of lines. And, as ever, there's always something to be said about Leslie Nielsen. From Forbidden Planet on up to his late career (which was almost all comedy and parody), Nielsen had the greatest of deadpan faces and his timing was always the best.

Rest in peace, the both of you.

Quick shout out to George Kennedy, whom we last saw on Couchbound in Charade. He does a terrific job as the Captain playing the pseudo-straight man to Drebin. I love the bit at the state dinner where Frank picks his pocket and an innocent party goer is accused of sleeping with the Captain's wife!

All in all, The Naked Gun is classic Zucker Bros. comedy while they (and their regular players) were in their prime... something that's more than a rarity nowadays. It's not as great as, say, Airplane... but it comes pretty close. And, man, that death scene for Montalban at the end? It just slays me. Especially when the marching band starts playing "Louie, Louie."

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Forty-three - TEDTalks: Crime & Punishment, Episodes 1 and 2, "Cheating... and the New Mafia. Well, I'm depressed."

Owing to the fact that I've pretty much slept the entire day away, I've found myself in the precarious position of not really having the time to watch Greenberg like I wanted to for today's Couchbound entry.

Also, I just did an episode of Anime... and wasn't in the mood for any other thirty minute to an hour long shows that I typically watch (like Numb3rs or Call the Midwife). It seems as though my lethargy has infected not only my sleep patterns but my viewing habits as well, today.

So, facing a quickly diminishing window of time to get the blog done before the day was out, I decided to go the educational route and watch something from the ever intriguing TEDTalks, these particular episodes being from the Crime & Punishment series of egghead lectures. The two speeches that I viewed were by Dan Ariely and Misha Glenny... and, while they both talk about the darker natures of humanity, they're also concerning subjects that are only very thinly related... the capacity for people to commit crime and the growing surge of organized criminal activity, respectively.

Dan Ariely takes a very scholarly look at pain and cheating. Through his studies, he has managed to produce data that shows not only which situations humans find that it's okay to cheat, lie, and steal, but also those possible triggers that minimize the urge to cross that line and take from the candy jar.

I found it fascinating to hear about these sociological studies which set up various ways to help people in situations where they could take advantage, only to find that certain things made it easier or harder for folks to live with themselves after stealing. I was especially intrigued by the implications that he made concerning the stock market, Enron, and the convergence of triggers that might have allowed such massive fraud to be seen as acceptable to the perpetrators.

Misha Glenny's lecture, on the other hand, while still interesting, was much more depressing. It feels so because his entire talk is about the massive surge of organized crime that is thriving in the recession thanks to the fall of the Iron Curtain, the defeat of communism not only putting former KGB and other security experts out of jobs, but thrusting them into emerging globalized markets with ample incentives to play fast and loose with property... and lives.

Not so much as scholar as an expert whose journalistic experience over the past thirty years has allowed him deep analytical insight and personal connections with victims and the criminals themselves, Glenny paints a portrait from the destruction of the Berlin Wall all the way to the warlords in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Coltan is the resource du jour for organized crime.


His logical leaps can be a bit fuzzy at times, as he early on draws a line between Soviet Olympic athletes and the Russian Mob which doesn't exactly compute... but it's not hard to assume where he's going as he reveals the former to be the affluent class of their era, suddenly without the support and resources that they had previously been accustomed to. The problem is that said assumption is on shaky ground a best as the only evidence he presents to support this claim is a photograph with some of these supposed athletes in bathing suits with heavy gold chains.

It just seems like so much stereotyping. I would've preferred it if he'd actually shown some hard evidence instead of just saying, "look at how 'naughty, naughty,' these half-naked guys are!"

Still, he brings up quite a few salient points about the wide reach of organized crime in the modern era and how pretty much everything we touch, eat, buy, and consume has their fingers in it to some degree. He, too, takes a jab or three (not undeserved) at Wall Street and its robber-barons, pointing a huge, accusing finger at Bernie Madoff and outright saying that there are more like him in the hallowed halls of America's corporations (again, with no evidence... just his word)... and, while it's easy to want to believe, I find it hard to take seriously.

Of the two lectures, I much preferred Dan Ariely's. At least he had the science to back it up. Misha Glenny just spins a story... and while I do not doubt the veracity of his work, it's difficult to digest his comments as he's just so obsessed with the big picture and doesn't make it easy to relate with on a personal level.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Forty-one - Numb3rs: Season 2, Episode 24, "I think I have a problem."

You know, I think it's pretty safe to say that Numb3rs is a guilty pleasure of mine now.

It's so cheesy how they spring a new math concept on you every week in the form of Charlie or Larry or Amita shipping a silly metaphor to the relative dunces of the FBI. I do like how Megan (Dianne Farr) is sharp enough to see where the explanation is going while Colby and Sinclair play the role of jock meatheads.

Still, the regular routine of math, metaphor, joke isn't the focus of this particular episode, it being the finale of the second season. No, the main thrust of the episode, aside from the rather throwaway murder mystery, is Charlie's fixation with a series of dreams he has concerning the possible loss of his father and the actual loss of his mother... who died before the series started.

Mrs.Eppes (played by JoBeth Williams) shows up as a possible manifestation of Charlie's unresolved guilt for depriving his brother Don of her company and support while she took the younger Eppes to college at Princeton during his teen years. She also happens to show up, no doubt at Charlie's instigation, in Alan's (Judd Hirsch) dreams to reconnect and assuage his own issues.

I'm not exactly the most spiritual of people, but I do find it nice that, while Larry and Charlie wrestle with the meaning of dreams and the dearly departed showing up in them, there's an immediate acceptance from Alan that doesn't question... and also leaves the idea open (albeit unsaid) that it really is the ghost of Margaret Eppes visiting her boys from beyond the grave.

For sure, I'm a rationalist... but I also live in a state of semi-wonder that likes to take a small measure of solace at the mere possibility, however remote, of an afterlife. Scientifically, there's no evidence that the light at the end of the tunnel is more than a phenomena of an oxygen deprived brain, but the romantic in me likes to believe there's something more, and this episode leaves that possibility unmolested.

Getting back to the mystery? Blah. The only interesting part was Don's near repeat of the climax scene from Silence of the Lambs (what is it with FBI agents not waiting for backup)? The serial killer videotaping himself and his reasons for going on his spree are annoyingly stereotypical in their creepyness. Even Megan voicing her distaste at his antics and her desire to see him get the chair are way too "Crime Drama 101."

It's weird how the episode makes me happy and mad at the same time, but not that surprising... and is probably the main reason why Numb3rs shall ever be just a guilty pleasure for me.

One last note... Olympia Dukakis is thoroughly underutilized in this episode. What a terrible guest role for her. Shame on you guys, Numb3rs casting director and her agent.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Twenty-eight - Annika Bengtzon: Crime Reporter: A Place in the Sun, "Aww, Annika's finally getting some~"

After spending the last few episodes of Crime Reporter feuding with her now ex-husband over his affair and their subsequent divorce/custody issues, Annika is on the hunt for the murderers of a Swedish family living in Spain... as well as finding some physical companionship on the side.

And I say that it's about time!

Revolving around a conspiracy that has left an ex-hockey player and his family dead, A Place in the Sun travels from Sweden to Spain to Gibraltar and Morocco, as Annika unearths clues and finds ties to drug lords, horse ranches, and hitwomen. Centering mostly in Costa Del Sol, Spain, Annika is on assignment with a glamorous interpreter/guide and a hapless photographer, the former too worried about her shoes and the latter more concerned with finding artistic shots instead of getting sensational portraits for their tabloid, Kvällspressen.

Speaking of Kvällspressen, it seems their pitpull of a news editor is retiring and, instead of leaving field work and taking the job herself, Annika's annoying rival Patrik gets the job and begins making thinks awkward and altogether difficult for our favorite crusader.

Still, Annika manages to cover quite a few stories during her working vacation in Costa Del Sol, reporting on the initial deaths, then a drug bust and subsequent connections to possible kidnappings, more murders, and the lampshaded villain who is introduced at the beginning of the episode but doesn't show up again till the climax (so you just KNOW he's involved somehow, probably as the ringleader).

A bit cliche, tis true, but still... one of the stronger episodes.

It's nice to see Annika getting a little action, especially since the last time was with her creep of an ex several episodes back. He's in Costa Del Sol, too, and manages to help her a bit, but not without trying to lay on the charm and cheat on his current partner with his old one. What a douche, no matter the clarifying exposition he presents Annika over a "working dinner."

On the sexy-times note, I should mention that, yes, as Annika is getting some nookie again we are once more treated to some tasteful toplessness from series star Malin Crépin. Thank god for Europeans and their lack of squeamishness when it comes to nudity. It's not objectification, just intimacy... and there should be nothing wrong with showing that in film, but try telling that to the FCC and network censors.

Anyways, back to the main plot... the climax action scene was a little forced and awkward, but I did really like how the men turned out to be utterly useless and it was up to the women to fend off the small squad of armed invaders to save the day. I'm not sure that I quite understand the legalities of the "missing" girl's decision in the denouement, but it's strangely satisfying that, even in this modern age of digital surveillance, someone with the will to disappear and live a happy life actually can.

You know, with a little help from her ex-criminal god-mother.

Being the last episode of the series, I'm a bit sad to see Annika go with little to no fanfare. It's certainly not the series finale that I've grown accustomed to, but does cap off a few characters and signals a life transition for the office of Kvällspressen that could possibly be taken for an ending. 

Not that I want the character to die or retire or anything... it's just that there's not all that much sense of finality or closure to the series. At least, not one similar to those that I'm familiar with thanks to American procedurals and their often concrete or cliffhangery finales.

Still, I'll miss you, Annika... and hope to see you (and Malin Crépin) again in the near future.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Twenty-four - Numb3rs: Season 2, Episode 10, "Wait a minute... the murder was a tool of protest?"

It's a little difficult getting back into the swing of things after my working vacation down at Connie Mack. While it didn't interfere with my Couchbound blogging (in fact, I was able to watch quite a few movies I didn't feel I had time for normally), I've certainly gotten a bit too used to sleeping in and watching shows and movies veeeeeery late at night.

To that effect, today I needed to return to my normal schedule... and that meant that I couldn't watch anything wacky or necessarily needful of my complete attention.

This fact brought be back to Numb3rs.

I might've gone with BONES or perhaps more Burn Notice, but I wasn't really in the mood for the torture of the former... and, as cheesy as it is, I've never actually seen the episodes of season 6 of the latter, so Numb3rs it had to be.

Let me say first that this particular episode managed to surprise me with its choice of ultimate villain. While I deftly dodged the initial red herring, the guest character that I had pegged managed to not be the murderer and I am both impressed and appalled.

I mean, as much as Numb3rs tries to be smart with its gimmick of math and logic being the primary crime-fighting techniques, it's still a rather predictable weekly procedural. It's very rare for the true criminal not to be easily guessed at if his/her identity is still unknown by the end of the second (if not first) act.

That said, they through me for a loop with this one... especially considering the ultimate motive didn't seem to make any real sense. I mean, the message that the killer was trying to convey was pointed towards the people who had a vested interest in protecting the same things that the killer was, just for different reasons. It really felt like the writers dropped the ball here and I don't just say that due to my own hubris at having guessed wrong. The whole resolution just felt... off.

Still, there are a few redeeming qualities in the episode. More screen time for my favorite professor, Larry (Peter MacNichol), and the subtle vibes he puts off towards this season's new female supporting character, Agent Megan Reeves (Diane Farr). While there were more definite sparks in the episode previous, I prefer the slow, subtle burn at this point in their courtship... which leads me to the second surprise of the episode: that Megan wasn't invited to Larry's send-off house party.

While, yes, no one else from the FBI was invited besides Don (Rob Morrow), it still would've been a nice nod towards his attempts at wooing the intriguing profiler.

As ever, the series is a quaint and harmless procedural whose only redeeming aspects are its occasionally interesting math gimmicks and series arcing character relationships, but it was certainly what I needed today... you know, aside from a stiff drink while relaxing in a tropical locale.

One of these days I'll take an actual vacation again. I can't say I haven't in recent years as I did visit my sister in Alaska last October... I'm just dying to take another one! ;)

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Twenty - Annika Bengtzon: Crime Reporter: Lifetime, "Drugs, Corruption, Domination, Murder... Good Stuff."

I've been on a tear, lately... feeling the need to bring my time with Annika to a close, not because I'm happy to see the episode count dwindle (only one left after this), but because, with the dozens of shows I've started and skipped around in during the Couchbound Project, I need some real, tangible completion.

Lifetime is a pretty darn good penultimate moment... both for said completionism and the series as a whole.

The quality of Annika Bengtzon has fluctuated a bit over the series. Some episodes were middling-to-good and others were just "meh." Lifetime, feels like the cream of the crop, so far, in terms of production value, pacing and editing, and tense, logical, and concise writing.

It has a compelling murder/kidnapping case with a very sympathetic guest star in the form of policewoman Nina Hoffman (Ellen Mattsson) who struggles to do the right thing despite the Blue Wall of Silence. Additionally, there's a return to interesting family drama as Annika and her ex fight over custody of the children between beats of the mystery... with some tense crossover between the two.

I think what was most fascinating about the episode was the great investigative work that Annika and her colleagues produce, a trait that Lifetime shares with The Red Wolf and had pretty much been missing from the series since the pilot. Watching all the pieces begin to fall together concerning the murdered corrupt cop, a precinct chief, and their previous schemes were all great filler moments and were oddly much more enjoyable than the actual climax where Annika attempts to rescue the kidnapped child.

It's weird in that regard. I much preferred to watch the staff of Kvällspressen organize and work than the "human interest" interludes with the victim/suspect and the search drama... and, while I enjoyed the custody/stalking subplot that Annika and her children go through, it wasn't as compelling as the rundowns on the clearboard in her office.

That being said, when Annika is accosted late in the episode, I definitely felt the tension. Even as I knew that there was one more to go, I couldn't help but seize up in fear that Liza Marklund had thrown in a twist and the final episode was going to be a postmortem on her own star character.

I also like the chances the drama takes that would never fly on American television. I mean, honestly, would you ever expect to see a child wet herself in fear on a prime time procedural unless it was done off-screen and mentioned only in passing by some angry detective trying to dehumanize a suspect?

It is probably safe to say that Lifetime is my favorite episode so far.

It doesn't shy away from its messages and hangups, even if they can be a bit cliche (I mean, c'mon... "corrupt chief isolates dogooder cop chick?"). Still, I hope with a passion that the final episode, A Place In The Sun, is just as good or better.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Fifteen - Annika Bengtzon: Crime Reporter: The Red Wolf, "Murder begets murder begets sales."

It's been a while since I was in the mood for Annika.

I can't really say it's because I wasn't interested in continuing the series (only two more left after this), it's just that sometimes even I have to want to read subtitles. Coming from a self-confessed subs fan when it comes to anime, I kind of find that revelation hilarious.

Anyways, since we last visited Sweden's most dogged crime reporter, not much has changed. Sure, she's married now to her longtime companion (and father to her children), but we knew that last episode. No, the only difference between the time of Studio Sex and now is yet another murder.

Seems someone has offed a journalist that Annika knew in passing in a town called Lulea in Uppsala. What might have been a case of petty revenge or genuine accident turns into much more when Annika finds a witness... who is subsequently murdered, himself.

Apparently, this all revolves around a left-wing terrorist cell from back in the seventies and its hitman leader who has been abroad the past few decades. It seems like he's rounding up his old cell compatriots, who have all gone on to lead normal lives, and offing them or anyone getting close to them (like the reporter and the teenaged witness). There's a twist to that assumption, of course, but it would be spoilery of me to reveal.

The mystery, itself, unfolds rather simply. There really are no connections until the bodies start piling up, but it's nice to see Annika do all the legwork and operate both on logic and instinct. I especially like the gimmick of the Red Wolf postcard. It's a nice visual that seems to be the only redeeming dramatic feature of the episode's whodunit.

Unfortunately, on the "Annika's personal life" side of things, this episode is more than a bit annoying. We've seen her relationship with her husband go through some tough times, but they've always pulled out in the end... and the better for it. This time, though, an affair is inserted to drive them apart. It's amazing what demanding work schedules and children can do to spoil a marriage.

I just really find it disingenuous that, even if there's a little friction, he hops into bed with the first bimbo to show any interest... especially after Annika helped him review some case for his job where he basically ripped off and repeated exactly what she told him of her analysis. 

It all feels fake and forced, but that doesn't stop me from getting furious with him for cheating... an act that Annika finds out about all too soon. I mean, honestly, if you're going to have an affair, try not to snog your mistress in the open air in the very same area of town where your wife and children could be walking down the street.

Dumbass, moron, villain.

I think that, overall, Annika Bengtzon isn't the greatest of crime dramas. It force feeds you clues as well as drama and never has any real sense of menace when it comes to its murders and murderers. That said, it's still more intelligent and interesting than the grand majority of procedurals (like Numb3rs and BONES, which rely on gimmicks and formulae).

It's worth it, I think... but don't go beating a path to it in your queue.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Thirteen - Numb3rs: Season 2, Episode 6, "I wasn't going to watch this, but..."

...with Scott Cohen's 10th Kingdom Leaving the Queue, I kinda felt the need to binge on his work lately.

The man gets around. He had a major role on Gilmore Girls for several seasons, as well as recurring roles on NYPD Blue, Law&Order, and bit parts in Castle, CSI, etc.. He's a solid character actor who can do rogue cops pretty well.

As such, he showed up in this episode of Numb3rs as a Homeland Security agent who acts as a gobetween for his pompous boss (played by John Heard) and Don, et al.

Like most Numb3rs episodes, the mystery is boring and the math isn't as interesting as it could be, still just a gimmick to pull Charlie and Larry into explaining concepts using layman's metaphors to the meatheads at the FBI (which should be ironic, considering the educational requirements of the FBI)... personified most often by former soldier Colby Granger (Dylan Bruno) who is a new addition this season.

No, what's interesting to me about this episode, aside from the bit part for Scott Cohen, is the past being dredged up when one of Charlie's high school crushes borrows the family house (now Charlie's house since he bought it off his father last season) for her wedding. It seems, way back in the day, she was his lab partner... in the same class with Don as Charlie skipped quite a few grades and they graduated together.

The rivalry was tense enough that apparently they had a wrestling match over who would get to take her to the prom, Don being the more physically fit as an eighteen-year-old, obviously won.

This bit of a grudge between them from yesteryear really pulled at my heartstrings because I, too, had a very uncomfortable high school life. Sure, I wasn't a 13 year old senior, but I could definitely relate to being the outsider that Charlie certainly was and feeling the angst and resentment that he apparently did.

Of course, since they're on such better terms nowadays, they easily get over it while reminiscing over old yearbooks and lasagne (which has a hilarious headshot of David Krumholtz from what looks to be his 10 Things I Hate About You era), but it made the episode worth watching to me.

Overall, it's all just your standard procedural fare, but it's easy enough to watch and still not as annoying as BONES. I just wish that Gilmore Girls was streaming so that I could've gotten my Cohen fix that way, instead.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~