Posts with tag murder
Posted Oct 10th 2008 10:05AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: CSI, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E01) It's rare when a procedural drama, especially one like
CSI which is the blueprint for forensics-driven cop shows, has the chance for a truly emotional, cathartic episode. That's what happened with this episode and
CSI's stellar cast rose to the occasion, especially William Petersen.
Picking up right where it left off in the season finale, unlike most
CSI plots, this one wasn't a whodunit or a whydunit or even a howdunit. The audience knew what had happened in the early morning hours after the night shift finished work and shared breakfast together.
Outside the diner, down a dark alley, Warrick was sitting alone in his car and something ominous was bound to happen -- and did.
For more on the aftermath, stick with me following the jump.
Continue reading CSI: For Warrick (season premiere)
Posted Sep 1st 2008 11:18PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: The Closer, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
"Oh, goodness. Is this where they do Dancing with the Stars
?"
-- Willie Ray Johnson, Brenda's momma
(S04E08) Here was an episode that epitomized what I like about
The Closer. This was an excellent mystery. It was complicated and drew you into the chase. Like Brenda, you're wondering how it was done, why and by whom.
Of course, it didn't seem like it was going to be a heavy duty episode, not when the opening was all about Willie Ray and Clay's unexpected visit. That damn RV has brought Brenda's parents cross-country, even with gas at $4 a gallon!
Don't get me wrong, I like Barry Corbin and Frances Sternhagen. They're great actors, but the roles are so broadly drawn. The show uses them for comic relief, even though they can do drama brilliantly. The scenes at the film studio were too jokey to me, especially in light of the heinous crime scene that Brenda was investigating.
The murder reminded me of the O.J. Simpson case. It looked like Ryan -- an actor with anger management issues -- was the murderer. He lied and had a history of beating his wife. The sight of him with the gym bag and then those black gloves were all vaguely reminiscent of O.J. Of course, since he was the prime suspect, I never thought that he was the killer. Too obvious.
Continue reading The Closer: Split Ends
Posted Jul 11th 2008 6:23PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Daytime, Casting, Reality-Free
One of the biggest stars of daytime is coming back to the tube. Genie Francis, the Emmy-award winning actress who created the role of Laura -- as in Luke and Laura --
will return to General Hospital on August 26 for a brief guest stint. This will be a very interesting return, too, because her last tenure on the show in 2007 was not only award-worthy, it also ended with her character resuming the catatonia in which she's been trapped for the past few years.
So how can she return to
General Hospital? There's a hint in Genie's quotes to the Associated Press. "This is a short visit. It's a mother-daughter story. Years ago when I started playing the character as a 14-year-old girl, it was a mother-daughter story, only I was the daughter. So it's kinda cool this is full circle."
Continue reading Genie Francis returns to General Hospital...again
Posted Oct 12th 2007 11:28PM by Jen Creer
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Moonlight
(
S01E03) I love it when form follows content, so I really enjoyed this episode. In fact, I think it was the strongest episode yet: It was tight, it had pathos and humanity, and it had humor. "The Red Cross doesn't mention that in their literature." It was a funny line, but Sophia Myles' delivery made it great.
In this episode, the characters are starting to find themselves. Beth is more driven by curiosity than anything else. It makes her good at her career, but it also helps her overcome any fear she has toward Mick. Unfortunately, it also puts her into dangerous situations. And as she tells Mick, "That's why it's a good thing I've got you around." Rather than thinking maybe Mick isn't such a good person to hang out with now, she considers him her own personal body guard, and is more driven than ever to solve cases. I think her drive to solve cases and her curiosity are more compelling to her than her news stories; in any case, a journalist like Beth will protect her source, so I think she will protect Mick's secret.
Continue reading Moonlight: Dr. Feelgood
Posted Aug 13th 2007 12:52AM by Jen Creer
Filed under: OpEd, The Dead Zone, Episode Reviews
(
S06E09) At first, I thought this season was going to be heading somewhere, but it seems that it's getting stuck in the muck. The episodes continue to cover territory that they have already covered. Tonight, it was about Johnny's struggles with the fact that he doesn't have much religious faith, despite his relationship with the now-absent Reverend Purdy, and his mother's own generous donations to the Heritage Foundation. We have been over this before in previous seasons-- like last season, as a matter of fact.
Continue reading The Dead Zone: Transgressions
Posted Jun 26th 2007 1:33PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Sports, Celebrities
TMZ is reporting that WWE wrestler Chris Benoit is suspected of killing his wife and 7-year old son before committing suicide. Benoit and his family were found dead in their Atlanta home on Monday afternoon, the same day he was supposed to appear in a "memorial" episode for Vince McMahon's WWE character. TMZ reports that Atlanta police suspect Benoit strangled his wife on Saturday and then smothered his son in bed the next day. Benoit was apparently text messaging friends as he watched
Vengeance, a WWE Pay-Per-View program, on Sunday.
I do not watch wrestling, but everything I read says he was very popular among fans. His signature move was the "Crippler Crossface". WWE quickly changed up its programming last night so it did not focus on the "death" of McMahon's character. McMahon made
a brief statement to fans about the tragedy, saying Benoit was "one of the greatest WWE superstars of all time."
*UPDATE:
Atlanta PD says Benoit killed his wife on Friday, his son on Saturday, and hanged himself (possibly) on Sunday. Sick.
Posted Apr 18th 2007 1:19PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Pickups and Renewals
Law and Order creator Dick Wolf and NBC Universal have snatched up the rights to the book The Brotherhoods: The True Story of Two Cops Who Murdered for the Mafia. The book tells the true story of two New York City copes, Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito, who secretly worked as murderers for the mafia. The book was written by William Oldham and Guy Lawson. Oldham worked for the NYPD alongside Caracappa, but didn't find out about his partners secret life until later. He launched an investigation, despite very little help from the NYPD, and both Caracappa and Eppolito were eventually arrested.
The book will be developed into a television project produced by Wolf and Tom Thayer, though whether it will be another Law and Order series or something else entirely isn't known just yet, according to Variety. Meanwhile, several movie deals are also being worked out to bring the story to the bigscreen.
Posted Apr 4th 2007 7:03PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Bones, Web
FOX has set up a special MySpace page for the drama Bones, and it's just one of the special promotional ideas the network has for a plotline on the show.
The page lists profiles for 18 characters on the show (regular characters and guest stars), blogs from the characters, videos, and other clues to the mystery of who will be killed (and who the killer is) on the May 9 episode of the show. Fans will actually be able to visit the sites, watch the videos, and read the blogs after every episode to collect clues to see if they can guess the identity of the murder victim and the murderer.
I feel bad about not watching the show anymore. I watched for most of the first season and it was actually pretty good. With this new promotion and the show's growing popularity, I just might try to get back into the show again and see how it is.
Posted Mar 14th 2007 2:43PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cable, Late Night, OpEd, The Daily Show, Comedy Central
"Cheney's Clout", "'08 Simple Rules: For Dating Our Withdrawal": Jon talked about the clout-loosening stylings of our very own Vice President. I don't think I've ever heard the word "clout" used so many times in my entire life. "This man is very, very un-good". The Democrats aren't doing so hot either. Their presentation for their
plan for troop withdrawal was less than clear. I haven't heard someone accidentally say "19--" in a long, long time.
Maybe I blacked out for a few minutes, but I didn't see any correspondents in this episode. Not even a field report! Hmm. I don't think that's happened in a while. I suspect YouTube/Google is holding all of the correspondents hostage until Viacom pulls
the lawsuit. It is the only logical explanation.
Continue reading The Daily Show: March 13, 2007
Posted Mar 9th 2007 5:20PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: ABC, News
In 1997, Julie Rea Harper was convicted of killing her son, Joel. In 2002, Rea Harper was interviewed on 20/20, still claiming she was innocent. After the report was aired, convicted murderer and death row inmate Tommy Lynn Sells confessed to crime writer Diane Fanning that he was the one who killed Rea Harper's son.
Continue reading Convicted murderer may go free after 20/20 report
Posted Mar 7th 2007 2:01PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: PBS, Documentary, Early Looks
The death penalty, not unlike abortion rights, is a polarizing topic, and advocates on both sides of the death penalty debate have strong feelings about a state's right to end the life of a human being.
In "Race to Execution," which airs on PBS' Independent Lens on March 27 at 10:00 p.m., the question as to whether race plays a role in death penalty convictions is made the center focus. One story deals with Madison Hobley, a Chicago man sentenced to death for allegedly setting a fire that killed seven people, including his wife and young child. The other story deals with Robert Tarver, accused of shooting a white general store owner in Alabama. In the end, one man is executed and the other is exonerated.
The documentary takes the stance that a person's race, and the overall race of the jury, does play a significant role in whether or not a person is sentenced to death. However, the two people behind the film, Rachel Lyon and Jim Lopes, are on both sides of the debate (Lopes supports the death penalty and Lyon does not). No single work can serve as the ultimate Truth on the death penalty, but "Race to Execution" does offer one angle that's worth considering for anyone interested in educating themselves about this issue, no matter what their belief happens to be.
Posted Feb 20th 2007 4:34PM by Brigitte Dale
Filed under: Video, Podcasts, TV Squad Daily
Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.
Today on TV Squad Daily:
The video's embedded below, or you can
download the file directly (Quick time required). You can also
subscribe to this podcast via our feed.Posted Feb 20th 2007 11:59AM by Brett Love
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Spike
Because there just aren't enough versions of
CSI, Spike is adding a reality show to the crime solving mix. The channel has
ordered ten episodes of a new show called
Murder from Bunim-Murray Productions. They are best known for
The Real World, Road Rules, and
The Simple Life.
The new show will find two teams of contestants investigating a replica of an actual crime scene under the watchful eye of Detective Tommy Le Noir, a 20 year veteran of law enforcement. The teams have 48 hours to complete their investigation before making their final presentation to Le Noir. The team that makes the best case will have a donation made in their names to charity.
The idea makes sense for Spike, given that they already run
CSI and
CSI: NY. Scheduling
Murder in alongside those is a good fit. On the other hand, I can't help thinking that this show was already done with
Murder In Small Town X. And just going on what we have here, it sounds like it was done better then.
Posted Jan 22nd 2007 12:31AM by Jen Creer
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, ABC, OpEd, Desperate Housewives
(
S03E13) Well, it seems that setting Mike free had a symbolic meaning for Susan as well as a literal one. When Susan was embracing a distraught Ian at the end of the episode, she had her eyes closed. There was no lingering glance, no eye rolling, nothing to indicate that she was anything less than sincere in her love for Ian.
Oh, I'm not buying it for one second. But there it was. And now that Susan isn't flinging herself in his direction, of course Mike seems interested.
Continue reading Desperate Housewives: Come Play Wiz Me
Posted Jan 20th 2007 11:45AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Celebrities, Monk, USA
(S05E11) Tony Shalhoub has garnered a few Emmys for his role as Adrian Monk, and I know some have complained that at this point it's almost as if he's given the award automatically. I don't care whether or not Shaloub "deserves" to be nominated year after year, but I do know that it's Monk that makes Monk worth watching. I don't watch this series because of the complex plots, because they're rarely complex. Clues to the suspect's identity are made more obvious than hints in an Encyclopedia Brown story, especially in this episode when a mysterious man strangles his lover in the opening scene, a man who is clearly Andy Richter even though they try to obscure him.
Continue reading Monk: Mr. Monk Makes a Friend
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