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Life: What They Saw

Posted Oct 18th 2007 10:01AM by Richard Keller
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Life

nbc's life(S01E04) To the producers of NBC's Life:

Folks, we all think that you are doing a great job with this show. Your stories are compelling, your characters are intriguing, and Charlie Crews is one of the most unique police detectives on the air right now.

Now, your editing on the other hand ...

Let me just say that I've received a number of comments from a review of last week's show concerning some of the editing gaffes that were fairly blatant. But to list a few:

  • The gas attendant mentions that the victim was shot before Crews and Reese ask about the couple found in the car;
  • The head bandage of the victim's husband changes sides when the detectives are questioning him;
  • During the chase scene Charlie is shown with his gun drawn. He holsters the weapon but it shows up in his hand again in the next cut.

I understand that this happens once in awhile. However, when the flaws are so blatant that regular viewers are pointing them out in multiples it becomes a problem. I'm sure this can all be chalked up to growing pains, so I ask you to be a bit more careful when you're in the editing room. I mean, you could have the greatest actors spouting the greatest dialogue on the greatest television show ever to be made but the show could still be crap if it isn't put together well.

And now, we return you to your normal review, which is already in progress.

This week's episode was a bit lighter than the first three, probably due in part to the guest-starring appearance of William Sanderson. For me, Sanderson will always be remembered as Larry from the 1980's sitcom Newhart. Most of his newer fans knew him as E.B. Farnum on the HBO series Deadwood. He was quirky on both shows and he's still quirky now.

In this episode of Life, Sanderson plays Holt Easley, a homeless man who lives in the backyard of a wealthy gay couple. I came to like Easley throughout the episode, just as Crews did. I'm not too sure why Charlie felt the connection with this guy, although it was clear that he felt he wasn't the killer pretty much from the start. What may have solidify Crews' feelings was Holt's reaction when he was about to be transported to prison the first time in the episode.

The murder investigation itself kept me interested throughout the hour. I really couldn't figure out who the suspect was. I had first thought it was Drew, the next door neighbor, but that was thrown aside when Crews and Reese discovered the bag of the victim's heirlooms buried in the backyard. By the way, I give extra credit to any pair of police detectives who dig their own hole to find evidence. Back to the investigation, I had a feeling it was the victim's partner all along. Throwing in Drew's wife as an accomplice was actually a bit surprising to me.

The way that these two suspects were caught was something that we've all seen in other procedural dramas; nevertheless, a fresh spin was put on the whole thing. Crews and Reese were playing 'good cop-bad cop', just only in separate rooms. Reese was definitely laying down the whoop ass on Drew's wife while Crews was practically having a casual conversation with the victim's partner.

Reese is a perfect fit as a partner for Crews. Watching her reactions in the car with Holt and Charlie reminded me of a mother scolding her children. That's what she has to be sometimes, since Crews is still acting out everything after being in prison for so long. Having said that, she does have respect for Charlie's investigative abilities and is willing to try out some of his ideas.

After nearly a month's worth of episodes we finally got to know a bit more about Constance, the woman who took on Charlie's case and was responsible for his release. Constance loves Charlie, and I mean LOVES. There's just one thing that stops these two crazy kids from getting together: she's married. I don't believe that she had a wedding ring on her hand anytime we saw her, so this was a surprise to me. This kind of sucks, because Constance would be a stabilizing force in Charlie's non-police life.

Finally this week, we see some progress in Charlie's investigation on who framed him for the murder of the Seybolt family. He's enlisted Constance's help to unseal the records of Rachel Seybolt, the little girl who remained in her house while her family's murders took place. Unfortunately, the social services records for Rachel had disappeared. Well, it looks like the records were at Curtis Ames' place. At first, it didn't seem like Rachel's records were going to be of any use. That is, until he opened her Art Therapy folder and saw images of death and mayhem. It appears as if Rachel put all of her feelings about the murders into crude drawings. If Charlie only knew what Rachel's new name was and where she lived.

Good stuff. Many of the concerns that I had during the pilot episode of Life have been cleared away, leaving an entertaining criminal procedural. Now, time for you to tell me what you thought.

What's your opinion about this week's Life?

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