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.
heist-related stories
Independent Lens: Stolen - an early look
Continue reading Independent Lens: Stolen - an early look
Smith: Three
(S01E03) Three episodes into Smith, and this show has started to come off the rails. It's sort of a mess now. And it's getting tedious and boring, with just too many elements (side plots, characters, etc) the writers have thrown into the mix that ruin the tone set by the stylish, clever, moody pilot.Anyone else having this reaction to this show?
Smith: Two
(S01E02) Dear Makers of Smith,
I just watched the second episode of your show, and while I think it's still good, I'm starting to fall out of love with it. Have you ever had that feeling?
Maybe it's not you, it's me. But I'm pretty sure it's you.
Smith: Pilot (series premiere)
(S01E01) As I sat watching the premiere episode of Smith, I kept thinking the same thing: after Heist and Hustle and Thief, are people really going to want to watch yet another show about a gang of clever thieves who pull off elaborate robberies?
If it's based on quality, it shouldn't really be a problem. This is a good show. But we all know it's not just based on quality, there are about 9 other things that come into play when people decide to watch or not watch a TV show, and I wonder how viewers will calculate those other things in their head when deciding whether or not to watch it.
Continue reading Smith: Pilot (series premiere)
MythBusters: Crimes and Myth-Demeanors 1
(S03E17) It's been since May that we've seen a new episode of this show, but it's still season 3. This episode dealt with de-mythifying the Hollywood heist myths. You know the ones, where a thief uses all sorts of wild gadgets and tricks to get past advanced security systems. What I'd like to know is, how realistic are some of those crazy Mission Impossible-like security systems?Continue reading MythBusters: Crimes and Myth-Demeanors 1
What's on tonight: Alias returns, Amazing Race, Heist, Idol, Celebrity Cooking
ABC has two new episodes of Alias tonight
(sorry Lost fans) at 8, followed by a new Invasion.- CBS has a new Amazing Race at 8, followed by new episodes of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY.
- NBC has a new Celebrity Cooking Showdown, a new Heist, and a repeat Law and Order.
- Over on FOX at 8, a new ep of Bones, then another contestant is booted on American Idol. It's followed by a new Unanimous.
- The WB has new eps of One Tree Hill and The Bedford Diaries, while UPN has a new America's Next Top Model and a repeat Veronica Mars.
- TLC has a new Super Humans at 8, followed by a new Facemakers.
- Also at 8: Emeril makes bread recipes on the Food Network.
- At 9, the Sci-Fi Channel has a new Ghost Hunters, followed by two new eps of Psychic At Large.
- At 10, Bravo has a new Top Chef.
- At 10:45, IFC has Peter Dinklage in The Station Agent.
TV Squad APB #8
Since we missed last week (hey, a guy's got to take a vacation some time), this week's
podcast is a bit longer than usual. I think Joel and I were doing this one a little too late in the night, so bear with
us. Some topics covered this week:- Heist's cancellation and our thoughts on what Mark Cullen had to briefly say about it.
- Clips from Joel's Howie Mandell inteterview.
- What shows make it, and why?
- Katie Couric's move to CBS.
- Why does The Sopranos countinue to interest me?
- A few spoilers.
Grab the file directly (link), subscribe to our podcast RSS feed (link), or visit the iTunes music store (link). (Running time: 01:04:21)
Goodbye Heist
Well, that happened a lot quicker than I expected.Heist, the stylish NBC robbery drama, has already been axed by the network, Michael Ausiello is reporting at his site (hey, Ausiello has a site? Cool.).
Come on, this was a limited-run show anyway, why not let it play out? I caught a couple of eps, and while I was bugged by Dougray Scott's accent, I thought it was a rather fun, clever show, and I certainly wanted to see what happened next. But I guess NBC needs the hour for another episode of Deal Or No Deal.
[UPDATE: Writer/creator Mark Cullen confirms the cancellation in a comment below.]
And I Quote: the best one-liners of the week
"Flanders?! Can't a man drink alone on
a Wednesday morning?" - Homer, to Flanders, who interrupted him sleeping and drinking in a hammock, on The
Simpsons.- "Two shakes, that's enough, move along." - the FCC censor following everyone around, telling a guy at a urinal that he can't do anymore, on Family Guy.
- "This is just like Lethal Weapon. Only I actually do hate you." - Detective O'Brien, after being paired with new partner Evans, on Heist.
- "Yeah, but then who would watch my TV?" - Jim, who is told by Pam to "get a life," on The Office.
Heist: Pilot
When I sat in on the NBC conference call for the show
Heist, I was probably the only person on that call who hadn't seen it. In fact, I had absolutely no idea what
the show was about... besides some sort of heist, of course.But as reporters from around the entertainment journalism landscape politely asked stars Dougray Scott and Steve Harris their questions, I started to figure out exactly what this show was going to be like. There was going to be a team of expert thieves, each with a specialty; they were going to plan a big heist that's funded by smaller heists; there was going to be a cat-and-mouse game with the cops with some romantic entanglements; finally, there was going to be goofy lines and lots of people not taking themselves too seriously.
How'd I get this off of one conference call? Two words: Oceans Eleven.
Behind the scenes of Grey's Anatomy: TV Guide in 60 seconds
Yet more press for Grey's
Anatomy, including TV Guide's behind the scenes
photos from their behind the scenes look at the show.- Matt Roush wonders which mid-season replacement shows will become a success (just like...Grey's Anatomy!) He loves Old Christine but hates Heist.
- Amanda Bynes is a man.
- What's going to happen next on Prison Break?
- In the print edition only: meet the Real Housewives of Orange County, flip through some Sopranos photos, read a Q and A with The Unit's Dennis Haysbert, and get answers to some of your burning questions about Deal Or No Deal. Burning questions? Really?
New programs for the week of March 19-25
Most of the new television shows this week
premiere on Wednesday. FOX is launching a new reality challenge where people are locked in a bunker and have to decide
which one of them is worthy of a cash prize. ABC launches a forensics drama with a unique storytelling schtick, and
NBC's much-hyped Heist finally hits the air. Probably most exciting, though,
is season ten of South Park, where Trey Parker and Matt Stone will hopefully
dream up new and hilarious ways of pissing off Tom Cruise.- The Surreal Life, Sundays @ 9 pm on VH1 (premieres March 19)
- Season six stars Sherman Hemsley (The
Jeffersons), Steve Harwell (Smashmouth), C.C. DeVille (Poison), Tawny Kitaen, Alexis Arquette (David's
cross-dressing brother), Andrea Lowell (Playboy), Florence Henderson (The Brady Bunch), and a mystery
"celeb".
Continue reading New programs for the week of March 19-25
MSN, not iTunes, will stream first two episodes of Heist
While
NBC offered up free iTunes
downloads of the premiere episode of Conviction earlier this month, it's turning to Microsoft for its next
big drama. MSN will stream the first two episodes of Heist for one week after each episode airs, first on March
22 and then on March 29. A 16-minute preview of Heist is already available on
MSN. The deal with Microsoft gives a lot of promotion to Heist, including top billing on its TV and
entertainment pages. That's more promotion than NBC gets with Apple. But, does anybody watch streaming video anymore
when we can download and watch it at our convenience?Mid-season programming changes at NBC
Once
NBC returns to regular programming following two weeks of Olympics (Feb. 10-26), the line-up is going to look a little
different. It's moving around a few shows, including Law and Order and Las Vegas, and adding some new
mid-season shows to the mix. Get 'yer TiVos ready, here are the changes:- Deal or No Deal, nightly at 8 pm from Monday, February 27 to Friday, March 3
- The Apprentice, Mondays at
9 pm, starting February 27
- Conviction, Fridays at 10 pm, starting March 3
- Las Vegas, Fridays at 9 pm, starting March 3
- Teachers, Thursdays at 9:30 pm, starting April 6 (replacing The Office, which has a season finale on March 30)
- Law and Order, Wednesdays at 9 pm, starting March 22
- Heist, Wednesdays at 10 pm, starting March
22
Six Mad Men characters who are in limbo after the finale
Fact or Fiction: Big Bang, Brothers & Sisters and CSI
The TV Squad Podcast: Linda Purl talks about The Office, we talk spoilers, and more
