jimmy smits-related stories
Posted Jul 16th 2009 2:04PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Reality-Free, TV Squad Ten
As I mentioned before,
I recently completed my summer project of watching the entire series of
The West Wing from start to finish. After using a month or so to cogitate, I decided that while the show feign realism, it didn't quite achieve the mark.
Many of the events I refer to occurred after creator Aaron Sorkin was ousted from the series. I take that as more than coincidence.
Major spoilers for the show follow after the jump, so if you haven't seen it yet, turn back now.
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Events from The West Wing that wouldn't really happen
Posted Dec 14th 2008 11:52PM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: Dexter, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S03E12) This was a really interesting finale for
Dexter, unlike any they've ever done before. I'm not sure how well-received it's going to be amongst the
Dexter fans; I'll be anxious to read the comments.
Me? I really liked it, and I think the growth that Dexter experienced as a person was really important for him. All along, I've posited that Dexter, though he thinks he's a deviant, is more like everyone else than he realizes: same insecurities, same fears. To see him overcome some of these and accept happiness was profound.
Everyone has secrets and they need to be respected. That's the theme of this episode. After the jump, we'll see how the different secrets played out in tonight's finale.
Continue reading Dexter: Do You Take Dexter Morgan? (season finale)
Posted Dec 7th 2008 11:55PM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: Dexter, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S03E11) All I have to say about that is ... whoo boy. It is rare to find a show that delivers quality episodes as consistently as
Dexter does. I never come away disappointed, and I sure didn't tonight.
But how are they going to wrap this season up in one episode? My guess is that some loose ends will be left to continue next season, but the major ones will have some conclusion.
I can't even say anything until after the break, this episode was so darned spoilery, but I will say that Dexter did have a dream, as in the title of the episode, and now that dream is dead.
Continue reading Dexter: I Had a Dream
Posted Dec 1st 2008 12:26AM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: Dexter, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S03E10) So much is going to happen in the last two episodes of
Dexter, and this episode set it all up. It was a tense one, and I enjoyed watching Dexter's and Miguel's little game of cat and mouse.
However, I really missed some of the lighter moments we often see in
Dexter, like the quotes with double meanings, the underlying serial killer humor, if you will. There was one at the very beginning, though, that was classic Dexter. On toying with the idea of killing Miguel, Dexter says in his voice over: "He's also my best man. I'd be expected to grieve."
Join me after the jump as I delve into some of the foundations that have been laid for the last two episodes.
Continue reading Dexter: Go Your Own Way
Posted Nov 24th 2008 10:33AM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: Dexter, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S03E09) Things are coming together and they will have a lot to cram into the last three episodes of
Dexter, that's for sure. Some huge things happened in this episode, but mostly, it leaves me with a lot of questions. Really, really good questions.
I'll leave the spoilery ones until after the break and start with Barbara...
What's up with Batista's chick talking dirty to Masuka?I don't know why Vince would lie about something like that, and it seems to me there's more to it than Barbara trying to fit in. Didn't quite find that perfect girl, did you Batista?
Continue reading Dexter: About Last Night
Posted Nov 17th 2008 12:22AM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: Dexter, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S03E08) OK, so I am sitting here, trying to figure out how I can actually write a review of this episode of
Dexter when the bloody preview left nothing from next week's episode a surprise. WTF, Showtime? So, let's move past that huge spoiler that is next week's coming attractions and talk about the damage done by Dexter, Miguel and Quinn in "The Damage a Man Can Do."
Dexter talks of the Butterfly Effect, in which one event sets off a chain reaction of other events. This is essentially what happens throughout this episode, and in every case, things go downhill fast.
Continue reading Dexter: The Damage a Man Can Do
Posted Sep 7th 2008 11:01AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Dexter, WGA Strike, Reality-Free
I'm always fascinated by the ad campaigns that the networks come up with to sell or promote TV shows. I remember in 2004 when Fox debuted
House, they created a magazine insert DVD of the pilot. It was a great way to get TV fans to try the show, and I -- for one -- bought
Entertainment Weekly and watched the show.
Giveaways are one way to drive awareness -- and sample the product -- but another is with a print ad campaign. Recently,
Gossip Girl came up with a savvy set of posters and advertisements to call attention to the naughtiness of the show.
Now comes a
new, original campaign for Showtime's Dexter in which the Michael C. Hall's character is imagined on the cover of magazines. Dexter on
Esquire,
The New Yorker, GQ, Wired; high-profile magazines that have a distinctive look, reconfigured for serial killer hiding in plain sight, Dexter Morgan. The ads look amazing and will be seen in all variety of magazines and plastered up as posters all over the place.
Continue reading Showtime's inspired Dexter promotion
Posted Jun 5th 2008 6:23PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Dexter, Casting, Cane, Reality-Free
Cane may be gone from the landscape of fictional South Florida, but the actor who starred in that CBS drama seems bound to remain in the Miami area.
Emmy-winner Jimmy Smits will be joining the cast of Showtime's Dexter in the new season.Dexter, which stars Michael C. Hall as a serial killer who murders those he feels deserve to die and remains under the radar thanks to his job as a blood-splatter expert in the Miami Police department, was a breakout hit for Showtime. CBS aired slightly-altered episodes of the twisted crime drama earlier this year, in part of fill the schedule holes created by the writers' strike -- and, ironically, the failure of shows like
Cane.Continue reading Jimmy Smits joins Dexter
Posted Dec 19th 2007 7:19AM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Cane
(S01E12) This was a great episode of
Cane. For once, they didn't try to wrap up all the loose ends of a story in one episode. I hate when everything is resolved too quickly. Some of the situations are dramatic and serious and
should be drawn out. The shot of Alex in the rain at the end was great and left me wondering how would he get himself out of this debacle. (Unfortunately, I didn't catch any scenes for next week so I'm not sure about the fate of
Cane as it has been suffering in the ratings.)
Speaking of Alex, all the best episodes of the season have been when the odds were against him. Last night proved no different. He is such a clever strong-willed character so I really like seeing him get into sticky situations and then having to dig himself out.
Continue reading Cane: Open and Shut
Posted Dec 12th 2007 9:21AM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Cane
(S01E11) There was a double episode of
Cane last night. I suppose that was because
Cane was not on last week. But whatever the reason, I just wanted to point out before I start talking about "Hurricane" that I
have reviewed both episodes. I linked to the review of
"The Perfect Son" at the end of this post.
Firstly, why did the people in the convenience store start panicking and rushing out like that? I rewound that dialogue a few times to see what Alex said right before the people went nuts. He just told his son to be calm. So, was the uproar because that thug had a recognizable gang tattoo? Or did people start panicking because of something with hurricane?
Continue reading Cane: Hurricane
Posted Nov 28th 2007 11:20AM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Cane
(S01E10) Firstly, let me say that I was a little worried when
Cane didn't show any previews for next week. I wonder if it's been affected by the writers' strike. Maybe because of poor ratings they are just taking it off the air. I wouldn't be surprised--they are fine with taking good characters off the show without warning (hello? Santo?). I would be upset if
Cane got canceled though. The show really has so much potential and it would be such a waste of an excellent ensemble cast to cancel it.
Now let's get to the review. Tonight's episode was good. The parallel stories were clever. Alex / Jaime are both confronted with morally gray situations (i.e. a hooker in the hotel room and strippers at a bachelor party). Both, however, stay true to their wives.
Continue reading Cane: Time Away
Posted Nov 21st 2007 11:34AM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Cane
(S01E09) So, is it just me or is
Cane a little all over the place? I was convinced last week and in the few weeks before that that Ellis Samuels was genuinely interested in Frank Duque and really wanted to be parted from her despicable father. But this week (because now it's convenient for Alex's character) she is back on the other side with Daddy dearest.
I seem to remember Ellis confronting her father about the death of Lucia Duque. The look on her face said everything: she was in shock and deeply disappointed to discover her father ordered the death of a little girl. Then, her father threw her under the bus with the Cuban land deal. He even rudely ignored her while playing cards with his buddies. It was clear they were not in cahoots.
Continue reading Cane: The Exile
Posted Nov 14th 2007 11:58AM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Cane
(S01E08) "There was a time I was especially fond of you." Ellis to Alex
What does that mean? Did Ellis and Alex have a deeper relationship that we will find out about? Now that would be a good twist in this conflict between the Duques and the Samuels. From their conversation last night, I couldn't quite gauge whether Ellis just meant that she used to like Alex as a friend and business peer or if she was referring to a past romantic relationship.
Another good episode of
Cane--it is truly getting better. Sadly, CBS still hasn't changed the time slot and sadly, Santo was not in this episode. I sincerely hope they are not doing away with him. But, on the bright side, some much needed developments happened last night.
Continue reading Cane: All Bets Are Off
Posted Nov 7th 2007 11:33AM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Cane
(S01E07) "You've got to stop this vendetta. It will destroy your family" --Pancho
Now, why would Alex stop trying to get revenge on Joe Samuels when things are just getting really good? This episode was great. And that's the first time I said that. As I watched the previews for next Tuesday, I was, for the first time, excited to see what happens next on
Cane.
I need to make one comment before I start the real part of my review though. I think this show would be more popular if it was on at 8 or 9 p.m. I say, get rid of the musical acts (it's not The O.C.) and move to an earlier time slot.. CBS could have a show with the same success and longevity as
Dallas.
Continue reading Cane: One Man Is An Island
Posted Oct 31st 2007 3:01PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Cane
(S01E06) "It's not who you are, it's what you're becoming" --Pancho Duque to Alex Vega
Pancho says it all with this quote from next week's episode of
Cane. What
is going on with Alex Vega? He's a dedicated family man who adores his wife. He's a smart business man who has innovative ideas for Duque Rum. And he's a wrathful man who will exact revenge on anyone who threatens his family. All this in one person. I just don't know if this is believable sometimes.
Continue reading Cane: A New Legacy
Next Page >
_thumbnail.jpg "Ellis talks to the private investigator.")
_thumbnail.jpg "Pancho tastes the rum.")
_thumbnail.jpg "Jaime and his fiance Rebecca.")
_thumbnail.jpg "Henry goes to the hospital.")
_thumbnail.jpg "Jaime and Rebecca get married.")
Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
The TV Squad Podcast: The Prisoner, '80s TV, soap news and more
Let's talk about spoilers ...
