The Mentalist - Bleeding Heart, S02E12 - A reassessment

I want to give a bit of a reassessment of my opinion of this week's episode of The Mentalist. In my regular posting, I focused more on the problems than I did on the good, and there was some good.

Specifically, Simon Baker did a fantastic job dealing with Patrick Jane's hatred of video cameras. Apparently, he has not allowed himself to be filmed for more than 5 years, since his last appearance as a psychic and the murder of his wife and daughter. And there was something very honest about Lisbon (Robin Tunney) figuring this out. Jane rarely talks about himself or allows himself to be the victim, so it is no wonder these things aren't obvious even to those closest to him.

I also really appreciated the way Cho (Tim Kang) responded to the reporter. He turned the questioning around, making himself the interrogator, a role we know him to be very skilled at. Again, that was a very crisp message about Cho's personality.

Finally, I could not help but love when Jane told the reporter not to be silly after he had pulled evidence out of the man's pocket and the latter tried to claim he had no idea how it got there. This is so often the defense in such cases, as Jane and the writers are absolutely right, it is silly.

The Mentalist - Bleeding Heart, S02E12

The Mentalist could be qualified as an action series after all that went down this week; however, despite some excitement, the plot was predictable and a few of the choices simply did not make sense.

The premise was promising: the mayor's representative is found dead at a ground-breaking ceremony, and attention falls on a mysterious Eco-Activist, named Jasper. Things got even better when the office of the construction site was fire-bombed with Cho (Tim Kang) and Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) inside. Cho had to smash through a window with a chair while Rigsby helped the construction head whose leg was on fire. And after that, Jane (Simon Baker)was kidnapped by Jasper (who was also Wilson, an assistant of the mayor's, played by Firefly's Sean Maher), which would have been exciting, except that by then, it was all too obvious who the murderer was.

You see, a camera crew had been annoying our favourite CBI agents, annoying Jane to no end despite Lisbon (Robin Tunney)'s attempts to smooth things over. And, despite a mention that it was for good PR, that the news reporter was the murderer was clear because there were no other interesting, yet not singled out, possibilities.

Though it is not always the case, in most episodes of most crime series, the murderer will be introduced sometime during the course of the investigation. Maybe a person that is met for 5 seconds, and then forgotten about by us until the final reveal, maybe there are a few very likely suspects and the actual killer must be revealed, or maybe it is the really obvious person, but you thought that was too obvious. As I have been saying all month, it's about misdirection.

But once you know that it's about misdirection, even without trying hard, you'll start realizing who is being introduced and who you are being directed to ignore or forget.

The news reporter was one of the people at the ground-breaking sight. He was there to watch the body get dug up, as the CBI team would have expected the murderer to be. It might have been a twist, but there just wasn't a good enough reason to have the camera following them the whole time if that wasn't what the end was going to be.

So the murder was a little obvious (to me), but if that wasn't enough to have me classify this episode in the "not as good as usual" category, Rigsby and Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) finally told the rest of the team that they were in a relationship. Which was stupid! Since they've gotten together, their choices have been stupid.

Let me explain. They knew going in that their relationship would have to be a secret. There was no way around that. And Rigsby had talked to Cho about it, so there was no reason to suspect he wouldn't be on their side or rat them out. Jane certainly would not have told Lisbon. So to have the secrecy of it wear thin on them so quickly...that's my problem. Maybe if the season had ended like this, or something, given them more than a month or two to get tired of sneaking around...I know they aren't the sneaking type, but still. It just seems silly to me.

What do you think? Were you impressed with this episode, and I'm just boring and jaded? And what will happen to Grace and Wayne? I'm excited to see next week!

Bones - The Proof is in the Pudding, S05E12

Yes! Yes! This is what Bones is all about! Conspiracy Theories, Booth (David Boreanaz) saving the day, Brennan (Emily Deschanel) being right, and a terrific Angela (Michaela Conlin)/Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) moment.

The episode started with Booth imitating Michael Jackson, which was a little bit weird, though amusing; luckily, that moment did not set the tone for the episode.

Instead, Cam (Tamara Taylor) did when she came into Bones' office with a positive pregnancy test. "Is this yours?" she asked. It was not, and when she went to confront Angela with the same question, the answer was, again, no. Oh dear, Michelle, Cam's 16 year old, is knocked up. Palm to forehead.

That moment of unanticipated stress rolled quite nicely into the next moment, when a group of government agents showed up, sequestering those present (including Sweets (John Francis Daley)) and barring those who were not (Booth). Brennan was asked to determine the cause of death of a body, male, dating from 1963, with pink fibers attached. JFK perhaps?

It was such a delight to see Hodgins indulging in the conspiracy theory stuff again, both because that was always such an interesting part of his character and because it shows that he is healing from the horror and tragedy of Gormagon. It also was such an easy explanation for why someone knew all the details about JFK's death, as well as the whereabouts of a replica of Lee Harvey Oswald's gun and a circuitous route to get there.

And what an exploration of Booth! He clearly seems to be healed after the removal of his brain tumor, back to defying whatever gets in his way. There was nothing that was going to keep him away from his people when they were in difficulty. And as much fun as that was, recalling his devotion to the US, which he considers, according to Cam, "the greatest country ever!" with such blind devotion. But he HAS to, with his past as a sniper. He HAS to trust the government implicitly. Plus, watching him kick ass and save everyone at the end, that was also beautiful. Especially when he "Butch Cassidyed" on of the guards. And what a great expression that is, too.

The last point I want to make about how terrific the case was was in its description. That body could have been Kennedy, or it could not have been. We can't know for certain, and we probably won't ever get to. But to see Booth use the replica gun and get off the requisite number of shots from one direction, well, I wonder what conspiracy theorists are going to make of that (and whether it is based on real data). Plus, the fact that Brennan, though declaring that the body was not his, still indicated the possibility that that it could be. Nice.

Still, I think we all know that the best moment of the episode was when Hodgins told Angela that he loved her and that he would help her raise Wendell's baby because it was something he could do for her. So self-sacrificing and SO perfect. And when it turned out that Angela was not pregnant, and he told her to forget what he had said, she told him that she never would.

Oh, are these two so perfect for each other. They have to get back together!

What were your thoughts?

Castle - Sucker Punch, S02E13

Not long ago, I mentioned how many an awesome episode of a great crime show is based on misdirection. Sucker Punch delivered one heck of a fantastic sucker punch that made me ecstatically happy.

A man working in organized crime turns up dead. He's been stabbed multiple times, and things soon begin to point to him being an informant for the FBI. Unfortunately, he had not committed to the informing, and thus no one knows who he was planning on ratting on. Still, it starts out as a fairly straight-forward case, with some amusement on the side as Ryan (Seamus Dever) is fascinated by the possibility of making lots of money through a real estate scheme.

Things got a little more interesting when Johnny Vong (Eddie Shin), an brilliant marketer playing a poor immigrant to sell his scheme, becomes involved as a sort of mule for heroin trafficking - he bundles the drugs into his real estate videos. And he is absolutely terrified of talking, preferring 10 years in jail.

Still, nothing seems out of the ordinary, a regular episode of Castle, which would not be unexpected so closely on the heels of the Alyssa Milano guest spot. The thing is, this episode was not ordinary.

When Lanie (Tamala Jones), the coroner, had the body in her lab, she seemed unhappy about something, but it wasn't until she showed up with Dr. Clark Murray (Robert Picardo, whom I know best from the Stargate franchise) that I figured out what was actually going on.

The stab pattern of the victim was identical to that of Beckett (Stana Katic)'s mother 10 years previous. That's right, it wasn't until the episode was half over that we got the big reveal - this episode was about Kate's MOM!!

And things just escalated from there. Beckett unable to keep things together and Castle (Nathan Fillion) being nothing but supportive of her. When things got really ugly, Castle backed Kate as best as he could, but in the end she had to chose to kill her mother's killer to save Castle, rather than allowing him to live so that she could discover who had hired him to murder her mother and why!

And so, while one little piece of the puzzle was answered, and we know that Mamma Beckett's murderer is dead, we still have no idea as to why she died and what she was involved with. If anything, I am even more interested, because until now, her murder might simply (and I use the term generously) have been the work of a serial killer as opposed to a career criminal.

And so, with all that excitement, I will leave you with this question: Ninja Assassin, isn't that redundant?

Chuck - Chuck vs Operation Awesome, S03E04

As I suspected, Devon (Ryan McPartlin) was kidnapped and not murdered. Not really a surprise, considering that an important character does NOT get killed off screen under normal circumstances. And so we got another episode where Devon was messed up in spy stuff.

Lucky for Devon, Chuck (Zachary Levi) puts his family and friends before the good of the nation. Perhaps not the best strategy for real spies, as recent arrival Agent Shaw (Brandon Routh) points out. But that is the beauty of Chuck - there is a realization that a real spy could not have what Chuck has, and that the government would certainly not allow it, but because it is television, anything is possible.

Shaw may well agree at some point, considering the wedding ring he puts on at the end of the episode. The question - is his wife waiting for him somewhere, thinking he is a traveling sales man, or did something horrible happen to her that helped him into this life?

Meanwhile, Chuck's friends makes me wonder whether the sacrifices he makes for them are at all worth it. Oh Jeffster, how you two idiots manage to live on a day to day basis befuddles me. The start of a Fight Club at the Buy More, and Morgan (Joshua Gomez)'s eventual disbanding of it now that he is the new assistant manager does at least promise that the American Dream is still being pursued, regardless of the Ring's activities. Plus, it is always a bonus when the crazy nonsense our boys get up to ends up helping Chuck during the big fight scenes.

This episode's fight scene just did not seem as impressive today. That may be because I recently watched the premiere of Human Target, in which Mark Valley had a fabulously choreographed fight which was visible. Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) and Sydney (Angie Harmon)'s fight relied far more on camera angles and quick shots than actual stage combat. It makes them look good if you aren't paying attention, but there are no shots in which a connection was made.

And my only complaint for the episode, and possible for the season, is that I'm not getting enough John Casey (Adam Baldwin). Yes, his line about how he loves guns made me smile, but I WANT MORE.

And what about you? How do you feel about season 3 of Chuck so far?

Human Target - Rewind, S01E02

Human Target is a show that does its job, fulfills its promise. There is action, and it's mostly entertaining. And the 3 leads have decent chemistry. But it doesn't offer anything more than that.

In the second episode of the series, I had hoped for something to reward me for my return. Instead, I got a convoluted plot line told from the middle. Sometimes this works, but in this case, I did not feel any concern for the other people on the plane who might be injured because I hadn't met any of them when the danger started. Plus, it was not an easy story to follow in that one moment, everything would be fine, and the next we would be at a different point in time (with no certainty about the time differentiation), with Chance (Mark Valley) and Winston (Chi McBride) in a fight with unidentified enemies.

And unlike in the pilot, those fights were choppy, using the modern technique of allowing the camera to do most of the work. Considering the fights in the premiere were what captured my attention in the first place, this development was disappointing to say the least.

I'm not going to get into how silly I thought the notion of turning an airplane upside down is. Not a small plane, mind you, a very large one! Why not just climb to the altitude needed? Is that really going to be more difficult than flipping the plane? And what happened to the guy who got shot? We just forgot about him, so why was he there in the first place?

This episode was missing cohesiveness, which was sad and a little annoying, but regardless, there was still no draw. "Why should I watch this again next week?" I ask myself, "What am I excited about seeing happen?" And the answer is nothing.

The show is perfectly adequate, and I may watch it again if I'm bored and it happens to be on, but from what I have observed in these first two episodes, why bother when there is so much else that is fantastic on to watch instead.

Human Target - Pilot, S01E01

While there were quite a few impressive moments, and impressive guest stars (Danny Glover for one), in this new action show, Human Target did not deliver any reasons for viewers to come back except that the action was awesome.

The concept of the show is simple - Christopher Chance (Mark Valley, formerly of Fringe) is something like a bodyguard. He keeps you alive, while blending in to eliminate the threat. In the pilot, he blended in, kept Stephanie Dobbs (played by the incredible Tricia Helfer*) alive, and discovered who was trying to kill her with the help of his partner, Winston (Chi McBride), and computer-savvy wild card, Guerrero (Oscar-nominated Jackie Earle Haley).

Next week, with their help, he can do it all again, only this time (from what I got during the brief ad for it during the Globes) the girl is the chick who played Christine on Dexter this season.

And that's the problem. Not that there are no female leads, though that might help, but that there is no apparent continuing story arch. And maybe that's a good thing - so many shows that are on now require week to week viewing, or you have to wait for the DVD release - but it's no longer what is expected. I want a show that promises me something on a week to week basis, even if it is something so small as "What will happen when the girl and guy talk this week? Will it make my heart soar just a little, even if they aren't going to get together for 5 more years?" Maybe something will happen in the second episode (which aired on Monday at 8pm), but the point of a pilot is to get us hooked, with no wriggle room.

Despite the lack of grabbing plot, the action was excellent, and I don't just mean the explosions. Chance had to fight off the assassin, and the battle, which was mostly hand-to-hand combat was shot so that we could actually watch the fight. And it was a long fight too! The directing not only made Chance look tough, but clever and dedicated. He got hit, and he went down, taking proper time to recover. It wasn't an easy win, and it was beautifully choreographed. If fight scenes like that are the norm on this show, than I will wave any need for love stories or plot lines all together.

So the jury remains undecided about whether this show is going anywhere, but I will take another look. And watch that fight sequence again.

Republic of Doyle - The Return of the Grevious Angel, S01E02

When I loved the pilot of this show, I was afraid that that might be it. That all the effort went into the premiere, and after that, the creativity, the timing, and the charm would be gone. It did not.

The second episode backed the first, and I continue to urge you to watch it because it is great Canadian television.

Allan Hawco, as Jake Doyle, continues to be the best reason to watch the show. And I don't just mean because of the adorable accent or his continuous, hilarious chase scenes. This character is just so real! He is charming, but sometimes he tries to hard and it is very obvious, and he is awkward. He has no idea what he wants from life, except that he wants...both his wife and the lovely new constable. His desire to protect his niece (and the fact that he refers to her as niece) and wants to beat up the punk kid who spry painted his car - though he cannot actually do anything about it - are obvious through an almost nervous tension that makes Jake Doyle a real person.

I am interested to see how many people Doyle will have to chase in episode 3, and how they will top running over roof tops and across boats in the peer. What is your bet?

The Mentalist - Rose-Colored Glasses, S02E11

High school reunions are rarely pictured as places of happiness. It seems that no matter how much has changed, when reunited, people are ever the same. Unless, of course, they end up dead...then they are definitely far more interesting.

When a husband and wife end up dead on their way to his high school reunion, Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) has a little too much fun... Of course, this is the standard for Jane and one might argue that in reality Theresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney) would never allow him anywhere unsupervised, but I think she enjoys the chaos.

The interesting question is if he really did not expect a brawl to occur when he encouraged a man, formerly called frogman by his classmates, to stick up for himself. Jane might play the innocent, but when has he ever done anything that didn't generate the exact response he expected? And was it really all that wrong of him to let the jerk get punched in the face?

Unconnected to the murder, we had an interesting development within the team. Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) got to work in the field on this case, which I feared might cause tension for her and Rigsby (Owain Yeoman). Luckily, this only happened so that Jane could blackmail Rigsby into pretending to be a former student of the school and unmask the murderer.

It seems Rigsby was right all alone, and Jane knows that he and Van Pelt are involved (duh!). And is it any surprise that Jane would use that information to get what he wants without actually having to reveal anything. He's probably happy for the couple.

While Rigsby's stint using his memory palace was quite successful, the most memorable line of the episode goes to Cho (Tim Kang). When a suspect claimed he listened to his brain which told him to run, Cho responded, delightfully deadpan "Your brain's a fool." Oh Cho, much as I love Rigsby and Jane, they could not deliver your lines the way you do.

In the end, the murder was solved, and the evidence was not destroyed because of vanity. Jane must have an easy time recognizing vanity since it is so much a part of him as well.