detectives-related stories
Posted Sep 24th 2009 4:26PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Celebrities, Pickups and Renewals, Casting
Las Vegas magicians and
Bullshit! hosts
Penn & Teller have inked a deal with ABC for an hour dramedy based on their real lives. To make it a little more interesting, they've added a fictional crime-solving element. Playing essentially themselves, Penn & Teller in the show will have a Las Vegas magician act at night. But during the day, they're "reluctant" detectives, solving crimes and saving lives.
One of the big questions I have is if Teller will talk. I suspect that he won't, even though we all know he can. He doesn't during their work together because it creates more humor that way with Penn blabbing on and on. If this is supposed to be loosely based on their real lives, though, wouldn't he talk once the stage show ends?
However, since this is still a Penn & Teller "show," I'm sure he'll stay silent. There's a lot of sight gags they can do with a silent Teller and a chatty Penn. I've enjoyed the guest stints they've had on other shows, and think they're one of the most entertaining acts in the world, so I'm intrigued.
Posted Jul 28th 2009 12:20AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, CSI, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S05E08) When I say that a lot of this episode of
The Closer felt like a
CSI episode, with the emphasis on the gory and gruesome aspects of original murder, I'm not being critical. And when I mention there were also elements that reminded of
Cold Case, that's also not a diss because
Cold Case is an underrated show.
But unlike
Cold Case, which brings the past to life,
The Closer remained very much in the present. Generally speaking, this was a pretty strong episode that played up Brenda's vulnerability.
Continue reading The Closer: Elysian Fields
Posted Jun 23rd 2009 10:45AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S05E03) If you were
Kyra Sedgwick and you were asked to choose an episode of
The Closer for Emmy consideration, this would be a strong candidate. For one thing, Ms. Sedgwick was given a really strong adversary, another likely Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series,
Battlestar Galactica's Mary McDonnell. As Captain Sharon Raydor, Force Investigation Division, McDonnell made an immediate impression.
Oh, baby, did she ever! She took over investigating the crime scene, forcing out Major Crimes. Then Brenda met Sharon and the sparks flew. Under different circumstances, these women might have been good friends. Both are forces to be reckoned with, no-nonsense types. Under these circumstances, however, they were oil and water. More on the specifics of the case after the jump.
Continue reading The Closer: Red Tape
Posted Jun 16th 2009 8:34AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S05E02) How could a gruesome, blood-splattered murder scene in a Lincoln Town Car leave no trail of blood outside the vehicle? Why would a kidnapper ask for the unlikely sum of $1,190,476.19 as a ransom? Who was putting the zip in Provenza's step after his hound dog attitude about love last week? All that and more was covered in the episode, and after a rather worrisome venture into the random plot devices in the Season Premiere,
The Closer was back on track with a nifty mystery.
In the midst of solving the crime, which alternated between being an abduction/kidnapping or a murder, Brenda was also caring for Kitty. If you've wondered if Brenda had a nurturing side, wonder no more. Brenda's ministering to her pussycat involved an IV drip and injections for kidney troubles. Brenda also enlisted Will as her helper in treating the pet. When it comes to Brenda, Pope still has a soft spot and she can get him to do just about anything -- and Brenda knows it, too.
Continue reading The Closer: Blood Money
Posted Mar 3rd 2007 2:01PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: PBS, Documentary, Early Looks
Stolen, a 2006 documentary by Rebecca Dreyfus and Susannah Ludwig, follows a group of men and women, most notably the late art detective Harold Smith, as they try to recover paintings stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum in Boston in 1990. Thirteen paintings were taken from the museum by thieves disguised as policemen, including Rembrandt's The Sea of Galilee and Vermeer's The Concert. None of the paintings were ever recovered.
Continue reading Independent Lens: Stolen - an early look
Posted Dec 12th 2006 1:33PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: TV on DVD
I loved this show when I was a kid. I watched it every single week, and then later in the 80s it was on one of the stations every single day and I watched it then too. It was a well-done show, starring Karl Malden and Michael Douglas. Oh, and theme song was awesome.
I honestly thought, for some reason, that the show was already available on DVD, but that wasn't the case. It is now! The first season of the show (actually, it's one of those "Season 1, Volume 1" deals) will be released by Paramount on April 3. It will be 10 episodes plus the pilot movie. No word or extras or commentaries yet.
It's amazing to see all of the famous faces that graced this show in the 70s, including Martin Sheen, Deidre Hall, Robert Wagner, John Ritter, Stefanie Powers, Harold Gould, Brenda Vaccaro, Stuart Whitman, Jamie Farr, Shelley Morrison (Rosario on Will & Grace), Leslie Nielsen, Dick Sargent, Dean Stockwell, Bill Bixby, Nick Nolte, Jessica Walter, and some guy named Arnold Schwarzenegger. There was a reunion movie in 1992, but Douglas didn't want to be in it (his character "disappeared" and Malden looked for him).
Posted Jun 14th 2006 1:02PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Animation, Adult Swim
Okay, I can't be the only one out there wondering what the heck is up with Stroker and Hoop, one of my favorite shows on Adult Swim. There haven't been any reruns on lately that I know of, and I've heard nothing about a new season. However, Adult Swim still has it listed on its list of shows, and the page for the series still exists, too. If you check out TV.com, they have it listed as a "returning series" which is a good sign, I guess. Still, I wish someone who's in the know would let us Stroker and Hoop fans know that the heck is going on. It's sometimes difficult for shows on Adult Swim to stand out, I think, but this one did with its cool 1970s look and hilarious cartoon violence.
UPDATE: The show isn't coming back. Special thanks to Dino Stamatopoulos for the info.
Posted Jan 12th 2006 11:10AM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, NBC, Law and Order
The third successful spin-off of the original
Law and Order series is about to reach its 100th episode, a
milestone for any television show. This Sunday's all-new
Criminal Intent features the original cast members,
Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe, who have been alternating episodes with new detectives Chris Noth and Annabella
Sciorra. The episode is called
Slither and it was written by executive producer Rene Balcer. The episode is
about a European gang leader who likes to kill tourists. By the way, I think the word 'slither' is meant to be a
description of the main criminal because the show description doesn't mention anything about snakes. The episode also
features Olivia D'Abo, a character whom viewers voted to keep alive during a poll in the show's fourth season.
Criminal Intent airs Sundays at 9 pm on NBC.
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
