(S01E06) Well, this was an interesting episode of Life. Rather than having the focus on Charlie and many of his day-to-day activities, we were treated to the life of Detective Dani Reese. I was a bit concerned about this when I saw the previews because this show is really still in its infancy and a shift in focus for just one episode can throw viewers off. However, as the episode progressed I felt more and more comfortable about the whole setup.
One of the reasons for this was that we finally got to find out how messed up Dani really was. We knew she had some issues hanging around from her time as an undercover narcotics officer. However, we just didn't realize how many until this week. She isn't fighting one or two demons...she's fighting an entire company of them. Not only is she recovering from drug addiction, but she also seems to have a problem with alcohol as well.
But, at least she isn't stuck in a never-ending cycle of self-punishment like some true addicts are. She admits she has problems -- she just isn't ready to admit them to anyone else. I think by getting to know Rick and finding out first-hand how addiction can turn someone into a totally evil bastard kind of took away some of her stubbornness. That, and her forced binge drinking of a bottle of vodka. Well, she seems to be on the right track to recovery now.
The way that Rick was discovered as being a rapist, and the way that the whole criminal investigation panned out, felt a bit weird to me because of the way it was presented. Over the past five episodes we were usually brought into a criminal investigation after the actions have occurred (just like we will in next week's episode). This week it was much more personal and I think I enjoyed it more than the usual 'find the killer' format. Granted, I wouldn't want to see that happening every single week on Life, but it would be good to see this type of format once in awhile to break up the standard murder investigation.
Just because the focus wasn't all on Charlie this week doesn't mean he wasn't integral to the story. If anything, he was the light to Dani's deep darkness. He was there at the AA meeting to support her concerns about Rick, and he came to her rescue after Rick held Reese at gunpoint in her own apartment. Thank God that he finally knows how to utilize his cell phone or else he wouldn't have known what was going on with Dani or the 'give me a moment' signal she gave to get into the apartment. By the way, I need to buy that cell phone: any device that can provide such a undistorted conversation from someone's pants' pocket is thumbs-up in my book.
While Charlie knows how to navigate his cell phone he's still a bit of a novice when it comes to the Superinfonethighway. One of the episode's lighter moments this week was his entry into one of the chat rooms where Rick's victim used to hang out. Someone responds to his request with a list of abbreviations that would make Funk and Wagnalls spin in their graves. Then he ended up referencing that 'Internet for Idiots' book like some type of English-to-foreign language dictionary.
Other fine moments that Charlie had were with his old partner Stark and his new boss Lieutenant Davis. From the statements Roman made in last week's episode I think some of us thought that Stark had this big secret about the Bank of Los Angeles robbery -- maybe he was the one who took all of the money. Turns out his biggest secret was that he wasn't in the middle of all the action, which is what he had been telling everyone for years. While this is on Charlie's Conspiracy Wall (should it be capitalized?) I don't know if this does anything to help or hurt Crews in his investigation.
While Charlie's interactions with his former partner were good the ones with him and Lt. Davis were my favorites. I don't know if it was the producers' decision to scrap Davis' initial animosity to Crews or the logical progression of the character, but it seems that the Lieutenant has come to grips with Charlie being part of her precinct. The stakeout conversations were interesting because it gave insight into where Stark actually was during the bank robbery and it also made her a bit more human in our eyes. Plus, it also enhanced my curiosity of the character: is she a part of the conspiracy or not?
Before I go I wanted to mention the sub-sub-sub-story of Ted Early. I know many of you like this character, but I don't see him adding anything to this show. Even this week's subplot, where he finds an unauthorized biography of himself at a bookstore, felt very detracted from the other stuff that was going on. It's like the producers are struggling to find things for Adam Arkin to do because, while a good idea at first, it's just not working out for them. We'll see what future episodes bring.
Next week -- Dani gets connected to something else on the Conspiracy Wall.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
11-01-2007 @ 11:29AM
Bas said...
I thought this was a great episode. The character development is so much better than on any other "cop" show.
As far as Crew's old partner not being part of some conspiracy on the bank heist - why did the russian from last week bring him up? Does anyone remember if the russian specifically mentioned his old partner, or did he just say "partner"? Dani seems awfully young to have had any involvement in that, since it was 15 years before.
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11-01-2007 @ 11:30AM
Rapidblue said...
My DVR cut out the last few minutes of the show right as soon as crews and reese were walking out of the house what happened after that?
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11-01-2007 @ 11:35AM
Bas said...
Rapidblue - They put her in an ambulance. Then Crews' old partner admitted to him that he was out on the barricade line during the bank robbery, and not really in the midst of the action - he was just trying to make himself look good. Crews told him that he was right in the middle of it this night. Final shot of him putting Dani's picture up on his wall.
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11-01-2007 @ 11:56AM
tiff said...
Bas, I think at the end of last week's episode, the Russian was talking about Crews' old partner - that's why Crews kept bringing up the Bank robbery all this episode, trying to ask him without asking, figure out what he knows.
Where did that $18mill go after all? Another mystery in a mystery.
I typically watch this show online because it comes on too late for me, but I'm so into it that I stayed up last night specifically for it. I've got to get a DVR, but this is still my favorite new show of the season.
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11-01-2007 @ 12:00PM
Jeff N. said...
This is a great new show. I hope more people tune in. It has a great cast. Last night's epsiode really was well done. The actress who plays Dani Reese is a did a very good job of carrying the epsiode.
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11-01-2007 @ 12:46PM
Vivek said...
Best new s.how of the season, i just hope that all the neilsens are watching. By the way during the hostage binge drinking, Dani had the phone in the coat pocket and not her pants
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11-01-2007 @ 1:12PM
Adam said...
This show really has me hooked. I really enjoy the show mostly for crews, but Reese and Early were pretty good in this episode. Plus, its really interesting to see where Stark is going. Every time I think i have him made, the character says or does something to change my mind. Also, for a serial, its not very serial, which is a good thing in my opinion. The shows don't really focus on the overarching story, but instead provide the viewers with stand alone episodes with a little of the Crews mystery thrown in for good measure. I was really interested in the conspiracy in the first couple of episodes, but now I'm more interested in how Crews adapts to the outside world after so long in the clink. All of his gags with being clueless about the outside world are classic, and add a sense of humor not seen in most procedurals. I've never really been obsessed w/ a TV show, but this one has me hooked.
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11-01-2007 @ 1:40PM
Bas said...
Tiff - I know the russian was talking about his old partner last week, but when we found out tonight that he was never near the scene of the robbery, it makes it hard to believe he would know where the 18 million went. Seems like a big red herring from last week.
Does anyone remember if they happened to mention what Dani's dad did for a living? Maybe he was on the tactical team that responded to the bank robbery, and that's why Crews added her picture to the wall.
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11-01-2007 @ 2:02PM
Chris said...
You referred to the skeptical blonde female chief on Life as Vick. The character’s name is Karen Davis.
I believe you might be confusing her with the skeptical blonde female chief on Psych whose name is Karen Vick. The characters remind me of each other too.
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11-01-2007 @ 2:24PM
Shiralee said...
How can we get the actors to quit mumbling? Why do they learn lines and then drop them?
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11-01-2007 @ 2:19PM
ShirleyW said...
I think this show along with PUSHING DAISIES are the best of this season, but, the official NBC site seems inadequate--I would love a link to the music heard. In this ep, Powerless, does anyone know who sings the song playing at the end..."there's no way to move on..."? I would really appreciate it.
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11-01-2007 @ 2:30PM
kevjohn said...
Another excellent episode.
Glad I wasn't the only one who has noticed the relationship developing between Crews and the Lt. When no one mentions these things it makes me think I'm going a bit bonkers. In the first 2 or 3 episode she was pretty anti-Crews and seemed anxious to get rid of him. I think to keep up that level of animosity would have come off as disingenuous after half a season or so, so they've wisely allowed her to gradually warm up to him ep. by ep. There's no great friendship there, but at least she's no longer actively trying to get him fired. Which makes sense considering the aptitude with which he solves cases.
Some moron critic on MSNBC had this show on his list of Top 5 shows that need to be cancelled, primarily because he didn't buy the premise of a wrongly-convicted cop returning to his old job after he's been exonerated. Let's hope not too many people listen to that guy.
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11-01-2007 @ 3:20PM
Dave said...
ShirleyW,
I think the song at the end is Sparklehorse & The Flaming Lips doing a cover of a Daniel Johnston song called GO.
Here is the Itunes link.
It's off of "The Late Great Daniel Johnston - Discovered Covered.
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=22113286&s=143441
Let me know if this is it. It sounds like the Flaming Lips singing that part at the end.
Dave
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11-01-2007 @ 3:42PM
timcur2525 said...
Wow, great episode. Does anyone else feel like Stark isn't really a bad guy. Also, this show reminds me a little of JAG.
Anyway I love the show and the characters.
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11-01-2007 @ 3:51PM
Rich K said...
Chris wrote: "I believe you might be confusing her with the skeptical blonde female chief on Psych whose name is Karen Vick. The characters remind me of each other too."
Well, crap. I certainly did do that. I will go ahead and change that in the post.
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11-01-2007 @ 3:59PM
rosay said...
@3
I did not see him put Dani's picture up on the wall The final scene showed Dani at a meeting telling that she was "powerless"...
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11-01-2007 @ 4:03PM
Rich K said...
Bas wrote "Final shot of him putting Dani's picture up on his wall. "
That was part of the previews for next week. I think that Dani's picture was up there already but Charlie looks like he's about to make a connection to her with something else on the Conspiracy Wall.
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11-01-2007 @ 11:11PM
Aberdeen said...
Great ep! I'm not sure what the point of Earley is, though...maybe something will crop up, but I hope it's soon.
Nice use of Morphine's music at the end of the teaser! Always does a fan's heart good to hear those saxophones. The song, whose title I forget, is from Cure For Pain.
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11-02-2007 @ 8:57AM
horsenbuggy said...
The Russian simply said, "Ask your partner..." Crews (and the camera) first looked at Dani who was sitting at the desk opposite from him. Since that didn't seem to make any sense, Crews (and the camera) then looked up at his old partner who happened to be standing across the room in conversation with someone. The Russian never clarified which partner he meant. The audience was led to believe that he meant the old partner because that's where Charlie's deductive reasoning led him.
I absolutely loved the line when Charlie told his Lt. that he and Dani only talk about how lucky they are to be working for her. I laughed out loud for quite a while.
I didn't really get the purpose behind the Earley story this episode. But I like Adam Arkin and will wait for a good storyline involving his character.
I am so glad that they are not beating us over the head with the conspiracy story. I am sick to death of shows that you have to watch every episode in order and that never produce a single episode that can stand on its own. If you can't catch up a viewer in a quick "Previously On" segment, I'm no longer interested. As far as I'm concerned, 24, Lost and Heroes are soap operas because their plots are so convoluted.
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11-02-2007 @ 10:27PM
sirona7 said...
Loved this week's show too. That they can change it up so soon in the run is a sign of confidence in the story and the characters. My family (including teenagers) were at the edge of our seats during the last scenes One thing though, I really liked the use of Ted in this episode. To me it was a little microcosm of who Ted was, is, and hopes to be, handled in a series of quiet comic moments. Ted and Charlie share this life-altering experience and we haven't yet gotten to see how their bond was forged in prison. Really hoping they do some prison flash-backs and pre-prison flashbacks very soon. This is a great show, full of promise. Please don't cancel Life.
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