Reviews and More

I bet you forgot that I’m still trying to make my way through the second season of Boston Legal, didn’t you? I don’t blame you, as my last post about the show was this one, way back in February!! In that post, it said that I was trying to watch Season 2 eps by catching them on friends’ TiVos, but that didn’t work out too well. I’d be able to watch a few here and there, then skip about 5 or 6 eps, watch a few more, skip some more, etc. It’s just too hard trying to make heads or tails of the storylines that way, so I caved and bought the Season 2 DVD box set.

Anyway, it’s been slow going since I was also trying to get through my Cagney & Lacey and The O.C. DVDs, as well as trying to get caught up with Ugly Betty and Lost via TiVo. When you add Burn Notice, Entourage, and my regular 3-4 movies per week to that list, you can see why I just haven’t had time to fit everything in. But, I’ve watched a couple of BL episodes in the last few days, and am now finished up to 2×13, which is a little more than halfway through. Here are some random thoughts from the eps I’ve seen.

– I have a major crush on Alan Shore! I’m not sure how someone can be so sleazy, and yet so upstanding and nice all at the same time. Alan thinks nothing of using every dirty trick in the book to get his high-powered clients off the hook, but at the same time, he watches out for the little guy (getting his secretary out of a $50,000 credit card bill, giving $75,000 to a homeless man that Denny shot with a paintball). Usually I don’t like obviously liberal characters like Alan Shore, but James Spader is just so awesome in this role that I can’t help my crush.

– I still like Julie Bowen’s character Denise Bauer. Unfortunately, I’ve already read something about her leaving the show after Season 3. Bummer! I hope they get someone good to replace her…

– I have to admit that Denny Crane is growing on me. I couldn’t stand this character in the first season because he was such a complete buffoon that it was hardly believable that someone like him could be a functioning attorney. But I’ve just convinced myself to accept that this is a typical David E. Kelley “quirky” character and that Denny Crane is not going to change. So now I don’t even blink when he says ridiculous things like “Denny Crane, I’m cuckoo for CoCo Puffs” to TV cameras as he’s walking into the courtroom.

– Michael J. Fox’s story arc as Daniel Post was really tough to watch. I have been a fan of his since his Alex P. Keaton days, and it was so sad to see what Parkinson’s disease has done to him. The effects of Parkinson’s was noticeable to me (I don’t know what the hell Rush Limbaugh was talking about in his infamous tirade against Fox), but the actor still did a remarkable job with the role.

– DEK is all about wacky cases, isn’t he? I mean, I can’t even bring myself to be surprised by anything the throws out there anymore. Using ass fat for lip injections? Sheesh…. Actually, from the cases they show, it’s a wonder that Crane, Poole, & Schmidt is the number one firm in Boston. How much can these types of settlements really pay?

Those are the big things that jump out at me when I think over these episodes. After such a long layoff, I had forgotten how entertaining this show could be, but now I’m anxious to keep watching!

I’ve been posting a lot about the upcoming television season recently because I can’t wait for all my favorite shows to come back with new episodes. But you may have noticed that I haven’t mentioned anything about Prison Break or CSI, two programs that I recapped religiously last season. Well, the reason is that I was extremely disappointed with the way the shows played out, so they’re now on the bubble with me. I will watch them for one month (four eps). If I’m not hooked by then, I’m going to leave them for the summer or something.

I’m so uninterested in what’s going to happen on CSI next season that I haven’t even been reading any sites that contain speculation, rumors, and/or spoilers for Season 8. This is unusual, since the fate of Sara Sidle, a series regular since the beginning, hangs in the balance. I was angry that the writers decided to have Gil profess his love for Sara in front of his co-workers, because there are only so many ways they can go from here. They’re going to have to address this relationship in Season 8, and I have a feeling that getting into personal stories on CSI is going to be a big mistake. Plus, I doubt that Sara’s going to be getting a diamond ring from Gil anytime soon, so where does that leave them?

And speaking of diamond rings, what’s up with Warrick’s marriage? Is that still on or what? They made numerous references to Warrick’s wife Tina at the beginning of the season, then the references dropped out entirely during the middle of the season, and then we got like one throwaway mention of Tina and Warrick having problems at the end of the season. What are the writers going to do now, just have Tina fade off into the sunset and hope the viewers forget about her?

See what I mean? It’s a mistake to bring that sort of personal drama into a police procedural.

As for Prison Break, who really knows where the show can go now. Season Two ended with Michael and Bellick locked in the same jail in Panama (or wherever they were).  Kellerman is dead. Kim is dead. Sucre might be dead. T-Bag is behind bars somewhere else. I think Lincoln, Sarah, and Mahone are the only regular characters who are still at large and able to move around freely.

Please don’t tell me this is just gonna turn into Season 1 in reverse, with Linc working to get Michael out of jail. That would be so lame.

Anyway, we’ll see how these shows turn out. Remember, I’m giving them just four episodes to prove that they’re worth watching. How long will you give them?