MekhiPhifer-related stories
Posted Nov 17th 2009 3:12PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Lie to Me
(S02E07) "Finally got you thinking like a criminal. Wonders will never cease." - Cal to Gillian
I have to admit, that image of Cal Lightman in a girlie apron still makes me laugh out loud.
Lie to Me may have scored a place in our drama category here on
TV Squad, but in our household, we laugh all the way through the show. That's partly because my son does a perfect Cal Lightman impression, with his penguin walk and in-your-face look to see whether you're lying or not.
But on to this episode -- the perfect scenario for Lightman and team, in figuring out Max's lineage. I lost track of how many cold cases they solved along the way. Lots.
Continue reading Review: Lie to Me - Black Friday
Posted Jul 6th 2009 3:18PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Casting, Reality-Free

I had just gotten into watching
The L Word when it got the ax, but at least now we can see more of Jennifer Beals. She guest-starred in two episodes of
Lie to Me last season, and will
have a recurring role in the upcoming season, playing Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoe Landau, Cal Lightman's ex-wife and mother of their teenage daughter.
Mekhi Phifer (Dr. Gregory Pratt from
ER), who also appeared in two episodes, will come back as FBI agent Reynolds, brought in as a liaison between the Lightman Group and the FBI for those tough cases the FBI can't solve through traditional methods.
The show's second season kicks off Sept. 28 with Shawn Ryan as the new showrunner. He's got some great creds, having worked on
The Unit,
The Shield and
Angel.
Lie to Me really seems to be picking up steam heading into its second season. We gotten a little hooked on it in this household, meaning it isn't "must-see" TV, but if we know it's on, we'll definitely check it out -- and pick up a few pointers on lie detection from Cal Lightman and crew.
Anyone else watching
Lie to Me?
Posted Dec 24th 2008 10:02AM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, CSI, Saturday Night Live, Smallville, Doctor Who, Casting, Reality-Free

William Peterson is out and Lawrence Fishburne is in. That's the plan, anyway, over at
CSI central.
Peterson's decision to say goodbye to
CSI was one of the big stories of 2008. The actor's onscreen phase-out started earlier this month with the introduction of Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Raymond Langston, but he's not really saying goodbye. Peterson will remain on the hit CBS show as an executive producer and will likely appear as a guest star in future episodes. His final ep airs January 15.
Since
CSI is one of those ever-lasting franchises, like
Law & Order, I wouldn't rule out a complete return for Peterson a few years from now. Maybe he'll spin-off another show. I'm sure fans wouldn't mind seeing
CSI: The Gil Grissom Chronicles.
Me, I don't really care. I don't watch
CSI (I guess I'm not that intrigued by forensic science). So let's talk about the 2008 TV star departures that meant something to me.
Continue reading Top TV Stories of 2008: Star departures - VIDEOS
Posted Sep 29th 2008 1:07PM by Richard Keller
Filed under: OpEd, ER, Reality-Free
We all know that ER is famous for its deaths. Not only of the patients that are served by Chicago's County General but of its staff as well. Particularly in its emergency room. Fact of the matter is, there have been so many deaths of ER personnel that I'm surprised that a police investigation hasn't been opened to determined if they were natural or a bit suspicious. Some of these deaths have been shocking, such as Lucy Knight's during season six. Others were long in coming, like Mark Greene's peaceful death in season 8.
Continue reading Greg Pratt's fate on ER -- too soon?
Posted Jul 18th 2007 2:23PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: ER, Celebrities
There are two bits of news in this post about ER (scroll down). One is that it looks like this is going to be ER's last season, and two, star Mekhi Phifer is leaving the show.
I'm not sure if either one of these news items is surprising though. It's a bit of a miracle that ER is still on (it has a revival last year, that's for sure), so if this is the last season it wouldn't be that much of a shock. And if it is the last season, I don't know if Phifer leaving will have that much of an impact. Actually, I don't know if his departure would have as much of an impact anyway. Certainly not as much impact Maura Tierney leaving would have or Goran Visnjic (Visnjic is in fact leaving this season too). But his Dr. Pratt character has become one of the main players the past couple of years I guess.
(Note to ER: you don't have to have a helicopter fall on him or give him a brain tumor to write him off the show, OK?)
Posted Oct 30th 2006 8:19AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, ABC, NBC, Industry, Programming

Not only is NBC not going to pull
ER at midseason as originally planned (it's had a rebirth in the ratings), but they are
upping the episode order from 22 to 25. That should please longtime fans (and tick off people who think
ER shouldn't have been put to bed years ago).
The news is not so good for the ABC midseason replacement
Traveler, about a friend who frames two best friends for a bombing (the preview looks great). ABC has chopped that order from 13 episodes to 8 episodes, so they can wrap up the storyline. Hmmm...maybe this is the first proof that the networks are beginning to understand viewer frustration at getting into serialized dramas and then leaving viewers hanging by cancelling the shows after only a few episodes.
Posted Oct 13th 2006 8:25AM by Richard Keller
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, NBC, OpEd, ER
(S13E04) Could we have finally turned the corner here? After so many mediocre seasons of ER with rotating doctors, uncompleted storylines, and the constant moping of Abby and Sam, is the series back on track? Well, after watching this week's episode, which I thought was the best of this season so far, I would say yes.
Okay, NBC says yes as well, because they decided not to interrupt the show's run for three months in order to air The Black Donnellys. Sure, you can contribute the show's resurgence to weaker competition (Shark on CBS and Six Degrees on ABC), but I also think it's due to the gelling of the cast after last season's adjustment period. Oh, and of course the addition of John Stamos as the new Dr. Ross probably didn't hurt either. I just hope they stay on track this season and not veer too far off into personal stories. The name of the show is ER and it should take place in the ER.
Okay, my rant is done. Let's get going with this week's review.
Continue reading ER: Parenthood
Posted Oct 5th 2006 11:55PM by Richard Keller
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, NBC, OpEd, ER
(S13E03) Okay all of you people out there who said last week's episode of ER was full of dour mopers. We have now moved past the whole Abby 'will the boy live, or will he die' storyline and have returned back to what made the show the long-standing hit it has been . . . the day-to-day workings at County General. Sure, the people have changed, but the concept stays the same.
If I wanted to get technical I would say that this episode was the official start of the 13th season because it was such a change of pace from the first two episodes. Not only did we get to see John Stamos in his first full appearance as Doctor Tony Gates, but we also got to see the new hierarchy of the emergency room, were introduced to a slew of new interns and residents, and welcomed back someone who was on the show a loooonnnggg time ago.
So, let's charge those paddles to 250 and get going with this week's review.
Continue reading ER: Somebody to Love