Women's Murder Club update

Women's Murder Club needs fan support to get a second season. There is a website... http://www.mariskahargitay.org/save_wmc/ where fans of the show can go for information. My Hershey Kisses idea has apparently caught on (huh, how about that?) and fans are encouraged to send the candy to ABC as a tie-in to the kiss-me-not killer storyline. Please drop by and check it out. And the icons are courtesy of grumpybear1031 over at LiveJournal. Use 'em to help to save the show!

Save Women's Murder Club!

It looks like the show has been cancelled. I'm proposing that fans send Hershey Kisses to ABC along with letters asking for the show's return. Why Kisses you ask? To nicely ask for a conclusion to the Kiss-Me-Not killer storyline, of course.

Stephen McPherson President Entertainment
Womens Murder Club
500 S. Buena Vista
Burbank, CA 91521-4551

Grab the guns. I'll make pancakes.

There's a line you don't hear every day. Get ready for the Sarah Connor Chronicles. Let's hope it's as interesting as this trailer.

Bring on January 6th

So I've already given up on Crowned. I don't mind campy reality but that show was just plain BAD. So now I'm waiting for the premiere of Cashmere Mafia. Here's a peek...



Thoughts?

Is it January, yet?

I'm on a Stargate Atlantis kick these days. The second half of their best season yet kicks off in January. Check out these back to back promos... especially the second half if you're a fan of a certain Scottish doc on the show.



Can't wait.

InFanity

Behind the scenes footage from Stargate Atlantis courtesy of TV Guide. Enjoy.

This Mortal Coil

So Stargate Atlantis had it's fall finale Friday night on Sci-Fi. Interesting way to leave us hanging. It wasn't a major cliffhanger. No one was in immediate danger for a change. Perhaps the episode would have left us more in a lurch if the series wasn't returning in January. Fans of Stargate know that's a pretty big deal to have such a short amount of time between halves of the season. Usually Sci-Fi makes us wait months.

The major plot point for this episode is, of course, what happened to Elizabeth Weir. I like Atlantis much better this season with Colonel Carter at the helm, but there is something about Weir that I've always liked. Hearing that she was supposedly dead didn't sit well with me and since the actress is scheduled for one more episode this season I'm not giving up hope that the character will somehow return.

Overall the episode was quite engaging, obviously setting up several arcs for the remainder of the season. There were also a lot of nice character moments, especially the scene between Rodney and Zelenka at the end where they talk about the loss of Weir and Carson Beckett. Intentional or not, the scene felt like an acknowledgement to the fans that miss those characters.

The scene between the Replicator Keller and the Duplicate Weir was also well done. The two actresses played this scene well together.

My only complaint? Where was Sam? I know why she wasn't in the duplicate Atlantis but it did feel strange that she wasn't even mentioned in this episode. With any luck Amanda Tapping will sign on for a full season and the writers won't be faced with the dilemma of being so selective with their Carter episodes.

Finally... the end scene where the dots representing Replicator ships popped up all over the screen... loved the fade to black followed by more beeps and Rodney's, "Oh Crap." Nice.

To Drag and to Hold

Someone please tell me why ABC hasn't officially picked up Women's Murder Club for a whole season. I know, I know... writers' strike, blah, blah, blah. That will end - someday. ABC would be just plain dumb to let a cast that gels this well get away.

This week Lindsey (Angie Harmon) had to deal with her ex-husband getting remarried while trying to find the killer of a drag queen. The look on her face when she heard her ex over the phone reciting his vows was some nice acting. I'm also loving how Cindy and Lindsey are growing their friendship. They're complete opposites but put the two of them in the same scene and you get genuine warmth and often some really funny lines.

This week's episode was made extra special by a guest appearance at the end of the show. Joe Flannigan!!! If that names means nothing to you then you obviously don't watch Stargate Atlantis. I'm hoping we'll be seeing a lot more of him but with the strike and Atlantis set to return to production on season 5 in February I'm not sure that will happen.

If you haven't gotten hooked on the Women's Murder Club here is your chance to get in on the action from the beginning. ABC reruns the pilot tonight and we're looking at a few repeats now on Thursdays.

You Kill Me

I finally got around to watching this episode of CSI. Yeah, I know. I'm a little late on this one. I just have to say it was one of the most enjoyable episodes of the series ever. Watching the actors acting all out of character was a riot - especially Catherine. For some reason I found her especially funny.

Can the producers please make Liz Vassey a series regular? She's my favorite character on the show right now. Her reactions and snarky comments made this episode. I especially loved her response to finding out she was the latest victim in Hodges little murder game. "That's a little passive aggressive, don't you think?" When Wendy mentioned she was considering taking the CSI field test I felt a surge of hope that the producers were finally getting wise to the potential they have with the character. Here's hoping we'll see her in the credits soon.

Now I just need to catch up with this week's episode which I'm hearing is something to behold - visually at least.

Crowned

The CW rolled out an impressively long promo for their new reality series "Crowned" last night. OMG. I can't stand watching beauty pageants but I'm going to have to check out the first episode of this train wreck. This might just be my new guilty - very guilty - pleasure.

The Bones Kiss!

So if you saw last week's episode of Bones you know Booth and Brennan finally, finally kissed. However the moment seemed rather tame. Well check out this behind the scenes footage. You'll see the tameness was a product of editing.

Leftovers

So the family was in for a whole week for Thanksgiving. That means I saw absolutely zero TV - for a week. A whole week. Do you know how hard it is to avoid being spoilt on your favorite shows for a week? Makes me tired just thinking about it.

I'm giving my effusive praise for Women's Murder Club a rest this post. Not because I didn't think it was good. You have the local ABC affiliate's freaking "Circle of Lights" special to thank for screwing up my DVR on that one. Bastards.

Catching up has been a slow process. I have checked out the latest episodes of Law & Order SVU, CSI: NY, Grey's Anatomy, Bionic Woman and Life. Apparently most of the networks were saving their best episodes of sweeps until last.

Starting with SVU. My DVR always cuts off the promos for this show so I had no idea Olivia and Kathy were going to be in a car accident. You could kind of feel it coming but it was still jarring. I'm a shipper when it comes to Liv and Elliott so I'm not thrilled with the whole baby story, but I was glad it didn't end tragically. That would have been too over the top. And the hug at the end... about time. I was about to yell at my TV when Elliott started past Liv. I mean she saved his wife and child for crying out loud. At least give her a hug! Glad he did. ;-) SVU logged in a much improved episode over last week's episode with virtually no Stabler and absolutely no Olivia. I know the actors need a break, but I'm just not digging the new guy. I want Fin and Munch back.

Grey's was back to the soapy episodes of old... and that's a good thing. The paramedics were just gut wrenching. I remember a similar storyline on China Beach where they knew the soldier was going to bleed out. The main difference was that the soldier knew it was going to happen. And Meredith realizing the impact she'd had on the paramedic's wife was some nice writing. And God love Bailey. I hear she's going to take over the voice over narration for an up coming episode. You know the reason behind it won't be good, but you can bet Chandra Wilson's acting will be. One last note... can Izzie and George just be over already?

Life continues to surprise me. When I first started writing this blog I didn't give it much of a chance. I thought it was quirky and had appealing characters but I really didn't think it would last. Shows what I know. It just got a full season pickup along with Chuck. The moment when the suspect swallowed the evidence was the best. The look on Danni's face was priceless. Also a nice touch having Danni give Crues back his knife. These two are very layered characters and the actors are playing those layers beautifully. I'm also really digging their captain. I hope she doesn't turn out to be one of the bad guys, but I'm loving the ambiguity they're writing for the character.

CSI: NY was probably the best episode of the series I've seen. Starting the show with the majority of the cast being sealed in a runaway subway is certainly a way to get my attention. They tied up a bunch of threads that had been spooling out over the entire season. It was nicely done and everyone had something to do. I'm wondering if we're going to see more of Detective Brennan (?), however. I've just got a feeling we haven't seen the last of Erin Daniels in that role.

As for Bionic Woman... I really don't know what to say. The episode was not awful. Not at all. It's just that I keep waiting for it to rise up to something resembling the level of Battlestar. That's probably not fair. Truthfully, I hope the show does get picked up and has a chance to find it's legs. Michelle Ryan deserves a chance to get some decent dialogue for her character. They've really started playing up the bionics, even giving us a neat little noise in a recent episode. That sound made the whole episode for me and I missed it this week. Yeah, I'm a child of the 70s... had both bionic dolls. The bionic "sound" is a must in my book.

So now I need to catch up on Bones, Stargate Atlantis, CSI, Samantha Who, and Chuck among others. And Heroes if I can find the energy to care about watching it.

Later.

Loving the "Club"...

I was drawn to Women's Murder Club for the same reason I had to check out Bones when it premiered. I read the books both series are based on. Unlike Bones, however, Women's Murder Club is far more faithful to the novels. There was a very big plot point regarding the character of Lindsey Boxer in the first book in the series and I couldn't help but wonder when, and if, we'd see it crop up on the show. I apparently got my answer Friday night.

Don't read any further unless I might inadvertently spoil an upcoming plot or two...

You were warned.

In Friday's episode Lindsey was under the weather. She and Claire worried she might be pregnant. The test turned up negative by the end of the episode. Plot resolved, right? Maybe not. In the first book, Lindsey discovers that she's very ill. As I recall (it's been awhile since I read it) she has some sort of blood disease - perhaps it was even cancer. I thought when the series launched that this would be an interesting story to explore. If Friday's fatigue was a sign of Lindsey's onset of symptoms then get ready to watch the Women's Murder Club come together in a whole new way. And I suspect Cindy will have to make Lindsey laugh a lot because the chips will most certainly be down.

I have to admit this show is in my top three now. There is nothing I like better than good dialogue and great chemistry and this show has both in spades. Last week we got not one but TWO new episodes which felt like a nice early Christmas gift from ABC. The show even held it's own against ER Thursday night. Not bad for a newbie.

Like Bones and Grey's Anatomy there is a simple pleasure to be had watching a cast work so well together. I'm loving Claire. Her reaction to hearing Lindsey might be pregnant made me laugh out loud. And when she casually asked if there were any other tests she should run while the club was examining some evidence was a hoot. Most of the laughs come courtesy of Cindy and Lindsey's budding friendship, however. You can tell Cindy idolizes Lindsey and Lindsey obviously finds Cindy to be like a little sister - a sister she likes to tease unmercifully. When Lindsey starts drilling the reporter on the whereabouts of a suspect, Cindy gets the best line of the night... "A girl gets a little flustered and you start whipping out the charges!"

Thursday's nice tip of the hat to Harmon's marriage to football player Jason Seahorn (sp?) was pretty cute. "Why can't I go out on a blind date with him?" she whines. "He's married," her partner informs her. Lucky girl...

I can only wonder why ABC hasn't given this one the full season pickup, yet. Hopefully we'll get that as an early turkey day gift.

The U-Verse...

No. That's not a typo. I'm talking about AT&T's U-verse DVR. You can record up to four shows on it at once. Awesome right?

Yeah. When it actually records. Or when it records and actually lets you watch what it recorded. Even better when the audio isn't completely mangled.

So Tuesday night the damn thing worked (mostly). Wednesday morning... not so much. I couldn't even watch TV AT ALL. All I got was a blue screen that said U-Verse guide... and nothing else. All my recorded programs were MIA. Needless to say I was not a happy camper.

I tried everything to get it working to no avail. Thursday morning I unplugged the whole contraption which killed my internet as well. I had painters coming in to do the living room and had to move the entertainment center. After they left last night I plugged it back in. For no reason the freaking thing was working again! I even had my recorded programs back. The stupid thing actually recorded additional shows while it sat in blue screen limbo. Go figure.

So I'm behind on my TV viewing again (thanks AT&T). I do have to weigh in on last Friday's Women's Murder Club and Stargate Atlantis. Both were fun hours of TV. Atlantis featured the best show I'd seen all season. If you liked the movie Memento you would have loved this episode. It rocked. I especially loved watching the three smartest people running around the city together - not knowing that they were the three smartest people in the city. Or that they were even smart for that matter. Women's Murder Club continues to be a blast. This show has one of the best casts on TV when it comes to chemistry. The four leads gel nicely and are believable as friends. I hope this one gets a full season pick up soon.

I haven't seen CSI: Miami in 2 weeks. You can thank AT&T for that one, too. I feel like CSI: NY is having their best season, yet. I haven't watched the crossover with CSI and Without a Trace so don't spoil it for me. That's on tap for the weekend. I have to say that the bit about Wendy being in a slasher flick in last week's episode was cute. I especially like Hodges comment when she mentioned that she had medium sized breasts. "They're perfect," he chimed in. "ly adequate," he finished when everyone stared at him.

I'm also behind on Grey's Anatomy. Last week's episode was a nice return to form, however. I even liked the bit with George and Izzie at the end. "Did you only shave on leg?" I hate these two as a couple but Katherine Heigel really is an awesome actress. Sister show Private Practice continues to improve as well. I think there is hope for both of them.

I'm thinking Bionic Woman is in serious trouble with me. I've wanted to like this show. I've tried to like this show. Honestly, though, I could care less about watching Wednesday's episode. That's not a good sign.

All for now. I'll try to be a more timely poster over the next few weeks. Of course if the writer strike continues we'll be out of new shows before too much longer. Make sure you surf the web to see why these folks are on strike. You would be too if you were in their shoes.

The laugh of the day

http://www.jobkite.com/catsinacdstore.htm

Click on the link to check out some crazy, musically inclined cats...

One more thing...

A fun website for all you liberals out there. See what kind of liberal you are with this test. Turns out I'm a "New Left Hipster." I will say that I love the Daily Show but hate MoveOn.org - just for the record...
http://www.fightconservatives.com/Inside-the-Book/What-Breed-of-Liberal-Are-You.html

Not a one...

Not a single trick-or-treater darkened my door tonight. How sad is that? And after I went to all the trouble of stopping off at CVS Pharmacy to pick up a bag of candy or three. Oh well, more Tootsie Pops for me, I guess. Hmph.

I was so pumped to see the episode of Bones last night that I watched it live (trust me, this is a rarity for any show). All I can say is what a bummer. The costumes were a kick but the story was just lame. Brennan as Wonder Woman, however... that was a sight. And Hodgins made a rather dashing Titanic captain. I normally don't go for bearded guys but I'd make an exception for him. I think it's those pretty, big blue eyes of his.

My U-Verse DVR has been acting up so I haven't seen much lately. It fouled up the signal so badly on SVU last week I couldn't watch it. This week it was CSI: Miami. So far it hasn't wrecked anything I just had to see, but if it does... there will be hell to pay. And probably an expensive service bill from AT&T. Bastards.

And how annoying is it that all the networks are screwing with the actual length of their programs? It seems like all of them are running over by anywhere from thirty seconds to three or four minutes. I have yet to actually see the last shot on Heroes for the last several weeks. And forget about previews to anything.

Okay so I had to take a bit of break from writing tonight's entry. Four fire trucks and an ambulance pulled up right in front of my house. In fact, the ambulance backed into my driveway! I heard the sirens but they didn't sound like they were upfront until I wandered toward my kitchen and saw it lit up like some kind of disco hell. I guess I'll discover what all the fuss was about tomorrow. They stayed about 15 minutes then split without ever even knocking on my door. Weird.

So back to talking about Heroes. Monday's episode was another big yawn. I must confess to praising Jesus, however, when the wonder twins finally got across the freaking border!

Just for laughs...

Nothing is more fun than animal videos. Here's a few fun ones if you're looking for something to do other than anything useful...

The Mean Kitty Song
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Qit3ALTelOo


His musical choices leave something to be desired but this bird knows how to get down.. Make sure you watch the end when he really gets with it. :-)

Snowball the Dancing Cockatoo
http://youtube.com/watch?v=N7IZmRnAo6s

And who doesn't like talking cats???
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GVzJj9Bio5g

And if animals aren't your thing, how about a laughing baby??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXXm696UbKY

Get quippy and you die.

That's my favorite quote of the week. I'll be using that one. Chalk up another great comeback for Lindsey Boxer on Women's Murder Club. If you're not watching this show you're totally missing out. The chemistry among the four leads is outstanding, but it's the dialogue I love. And the look on Lindsey's face in this week's episode when she ran up the stairs expecting to find a woman in mortal peril and instead discovers a dental hygienist in full bondage gear... priceless. I rewound that one a few times it was so funny. Her comment on the whole situation? "And people wonder why I don't date."

Heroes finally improved with the addition of Kristen Bell. She brings that certain something to her role and it's going to be fun watching Veronica Mars play the bad girl for a change. We're already speculating at the office who her daddy is going to be. At least we're talking about the show again. For the first several weeks we didn't have anything nice to say so we weren't saying anything at all.

Bionic Woman continues to frustrate the hell out of me. There is so much flipping potential for this show and it keeps falling way short. I have no issues with Michelle Ryan as the lead. It isn't her that's the problem. It's the crappy dialogue and the lame ass plots. I sincerely hope this show gets its groove sometime soon before it's too late. Of all my friends I'm the only one still watching it. The rest have thrown in the towel. I'll give it through November but that's it.

Private Practice is growing on me. It's still not Grey's Anatomy (which has been back in form the past two episodes) but it's probably not fair for me to compare the two. Unlike Bionic Woman I think this show is finally finding it's tone. My only quibble is that I miss the Addison I grew to love on Grey's. It's like the character moved to LA and got a brain transplant...

As for other shows... I have to say that all three CSIs seem to be going through a rebirth this season. Especially Vegas. All of them are considerably improved. I still fast forward through the lab montages - which cuts the show down to a more manageable half hour. I was never crazy about the Sara Sidle character but I'm quite curious to see how they write her out. I'll give credit to Jojora Fox. She's doing the best acting I've ever her seen her do on the show.

Stargate Atlantis finally had an off episode this season. Not a bad one, mind you, it just didn't live up to the first four which were all quite good. Jill Waggoner as Larrin finally grew on me but not until almost the end of the episode. I've never been a fan of episodes that largely revolve around a single character. Team focused episodes feel better paced. And I missed Carter and Keller who are forming a neat little friendship as the newbies on Atlantis. Next week's episode looks like fun, though. And it should be visually awesome as well. At least that's what Joseph Mallozzi told me in his blog after I commented on the lush look of the shooting style this season. I have to admit to a fangirl moment. It's pretty darn cool when the showrunner of one of your favorite programs takes a moment to answer a comment or a question you've asked. Check out his blog here (www.josephmallozzi.blogspot.com) if you like the show. And he's got the cutest damn dogs you've ever seen.

Finally I have to mention Murder in Suburbia again. I watched the last episode of season 1 yesterday and laughed my head off. There is a scene near the beginning of the episode where the two leads are getting scolded by their captain. He mentions that a suspect has accused them of using improper and insulting language during her arrest. Both inspectors look baffled for a moment. He adds, "She says you used the 'C' word." Ash clarifies everything when she explains that Scribbs said, "You can't, as in you can't do that." Now imagine how the British say the word 'can't' and you'll get the joke. Scribbs follows up with, "Hence the phonetic misunderstanding." Come to think of it, there's another line worth adding to my arsenal. :-)

October 20, 2007

Shows are dropping right and left. No, not from the network schedules - from my DVR. I'm working on reclaiming a little of my life so I'm making some hard decisions about what I'm watching right now.

Gossip Girl, House, and Reaper have had their season passes purged. I've picked up Women's Murder Club which was just as enjoyable in its second outing as it was in its first. I wouldn't have picked this show to be my new favorite of the fall TV season but it's proving to be quite entertaining. I'm on the fence right now about Heroes. If it doesn't start picking up the pace pronto I'll wait for the freaking DVD release. The thing I always like about Heroes was that they didn't drag things out like some other shows (yes, Lost, I'm talking to you) but this season has been painfully slow. For the love of God, could the wonder twins please cross the flipping border???? And I am not digging the flying teenager. He's annoying the crap out of me. Right now the only story interesting me is Mica's family in New Orleans. Gotta love his cousin's power. Imagine being able to do anything you saw on television. Then you'd have a great excuse for watching as much of it as you wanted!

As for why Gossip Girl is going... I think I'd simply rather watch it all without the wait. Reaper isn't holding my interest like I thought it would, unlike its similar counterpart Chuck. I'm liking Chuck more and more each week. Other than the devil and the sidekick, however, Reaper isn't showing me much. I'm a little bummed about that because I so looked forward to this series.

Then there is House. I've watched House from the beginning. As I write this entry I'm even wearing a House t-shirt someone gave me (What? It's comfy!). I don't even think there is anything wrong with the episodes I've seen this season. I think I'm simply over the show. The formula just doesn't hold my interest anymore. As fascinating as some of the cases may be, they aren't enough to get me to tune in.

Now there is a show that I might add to my list of season passes - Samantha Who? I don't watch comedies as a rule. Love funny movies but rarely do I take in comedies on TV. Just a weird quirk of mine I guess. But Samantha could make me change my ways if she continues to be as entertaining as she was in the premiere. And the identity of the bellman at the hotel was driving me nuts. I knew I'd seen him somewhere before. Then it hit me. Tuvok! He's Tuvok from Star Trek Voyager. Did I just solidify my geek cred or what?

Finally, I've picked up episodes of a British series called Murder in Suburbia. There are only 12 episodes in all (2 seasons worth across the pond). The murder cases aren't much but the two leads are a blast. Posh, uptight Inspector Kate "Ash" Ashurst and her working-class partner Detective Emma "Scribbs" Scribbins solve... you guessed it... murders in suburbia. Both women are single and often commiserate about their love lives, or lack their of. One funny scene has Ash making a fool of herself in front of her boss (whom she secretly fancies). Her partner helpfully points out that if they carried guns she'd be able to shoot her. Ash responds: "If we carried guns I'd shoot myself." The show is a lot of fun. Too bad it only lasted for two seasons.

And no, I haven't watched Pushing Daises. Got them all recorded, though. My hopes for this series are so high that I haven't watched for fear they'll be crushed. I'll try to brave the pilot sometime in the near future.