Paul Levinson's Blog: Levinson at Large, page 401
March 22, 2011
NCIS 8.18: Gibbs vs. the Kid
Whoah, one of the best NCIS episodes of the season - 8.18 - as Gibbs and DiNozzo try to get a kid (an 18-year old who looks much younger) to confess to the murder of his father (a former marine). Vance is sure the kid is guilty, though he has steadfastly denied the charge. Vance has a special interest in seeing the kid go down (first, his friend's appointment to the bench may be depend upon it, and next - which may be more primary - it turns out that Vance and the victim were friends). Gibbs has no zest for this case, but Vance insists on putting Gibbs and the team on it, since it requires a great interrogator to break the kid, and Gibbs is one of the best ("who's the other," Gibbs retorts, in the best line of the show).
The first part of the show features DiNozzo and Gibbs doing a classic bad cop / good cop on the kid, powerfully played by Cameron Monaghan, who performed so well on Fringe last year (as what I called the kid who changed minds). Now, Monaghan's character Nick certainly has volatile, unresolved feelings about his father, plus a history of drug abuse including on the night of the murder, and a neighbor who puts him at the scene of the crime. But did Nick do it?
As Gibbs gradually begins to think maybe not, Vance gets more aggressive and insistent on getting a confession. He takes over the interrogation, brandishing an axe (much like the one used on Nick's father), and gets the confession.
Now Gibbs, repulsed by Vance's methods, is less sure than ever about Nick's guilt. Suffice to say Gibbs was right, and the team nabs the real killer.
But all's not well that ends well here. Gibbs and Vance - who has been showing attitude to Gibbs all season - are on worse terms than ever. This relationship may well beyond repair, and the only question may be how much more damage Vance will do before he goes.
See also NCIS Back in Season 8 Action ... NCIS 8.2: Interns! ... NCIS 8.3: Tiff! ... NCIS 8.4: Gary Cooper not John Wayne ... NCIS 8.5: Dead DJ, DiNozzo Hoarse, and Baseball ... NCIS 8.6: The Written Woman ... NCIS 8.7: "James Bond Movie Directed by Fellini" ... NCIS 8.8: Ziva's Father
... NCIS 8.9: Leon's Story ... NCIS 8.10: DiNozzo In and Out ... NCIS 8.11: "The Sister Went Viral" ... Bob Newhart on NCIS 8.12 ... NCIS 8.13: The Wife or the Girlfriend ... NCIS 8.14: Kate ... NCIS 8.15: McGee and DiNozzo's Badges ... NCIS 8.16: Computer Games ... NCIS 8.17: Budget Cuts
And see also NCIS ... NCIS 7.16: Gibbs' Mother-in-Law Dilemma ... NCIS 7.17: Ducky's Ties ... NCIS 7.18: Bogus Treasure and Real Locker ... NCIS 7.21: NCIS Meets Laura ... NCIS Season 7 Finale: Retribution
Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Car, eHarmony, eMusic, Mozy, Zazzle
The Plot to Save Socrates
"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
The first part of the show features DiNozzo and Gibbs doing a classic bad cop / good cop on the kid, powerfully played by Cameron Monaghan, who performed so well on Fringe last year (as what I called the kid who changed minds). Now, Monaghan's character Nick certainly has volatile, unresolved feelings about his father, plus a history of drug abuse including on the night of the murder, and a neighbor who puts him at the scene of the crime. But did Nick do it?
As Gibbs gradually begins to think maybe not, Vance gets more aggressive and insistent on getting a confession. He takes over the interrogation, brandishing an axe (much like the one used on Nick's father), and gets the confession.
Now Gibbs, repulsed by Vance's methods, is less sure than ever about Nick's guilt. Suffice to say Gibbs was right, and the team nabs the real killer.
But all's not well that ends well here. Gibbs and Vance - who has been showing attitude to Gibbs all season - are on worse terms than ever. This relationship may well beyond repair, and the only question may be how much more damage Vance will do before he goes.
See also NCIS Back in Season 8 Action ... NCIS 8.2: Interns! ... NCIS 8.3: Tiff! ... NCIS 8.4: Gary Cooper not John Wayne ... NCIS 8.5: Dead DJ, DiNozzo Hoarse, and Baseball ... NCIS 8.6: The Written Woman ... NCIS 8.7: "James Bond Movie Directed by Fellini" ... NCIS 8.8: Ziva's Father
... NCIS 8.9: Leon's Story ... NCIS 8.10: DiNozzo In and Out ... NCIS 8.11: "The Sister Went Viral" ... Bob Newhart on NCIS 8.12 ... NCIS 8.13: The Wife or the Girlfriend ... NCIS 8.14: Kate ... NCIS 8.15: McGee and DiNozzo's Badges ... NCIS 8.16: Computer Games ... NCIS 8.17: Budget Cuts
And see also NCIS ... NCIS 7.16: Gibbs' Mother-in-Law Dilemma ... NCIS 7.17: Ducky's Ties ... NCIS 7.18: Bogus Treasure and Real Locker ... NCIS 7.21: NCIS Meets Laura ... NCIS Season 7 Finale: Retribution
Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Car, eHarmony, eMusic, Mozy, Zazzle
The Plot to Save Socrates
"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
A Game of Thrones - my Fall 1996 review of 1st novel
As a warm-up for Game of Thones, set to premiere on HBO on April 17, I thought I'd share with you the review I did of the first novel, A Game of Thrones, in George R. R. Martin's book series, upon which the TV series is based. As you'll see, it's something of mixed review. But there was enough that I really enjoyed, even loved, in the novel, that I'm happily anticipating the HBO series, and will review every episode right here.
from Tangent Magazine, #16, Fall 1996 A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, Bantam Books, 1996, hardcover, 694 pp.Reviewed by Paul LevinsonGEORGE R. R. MARTIN'S A Game of Thrones - a 694-page novel that begins a series- is in many ways a tale fit for a king.Its tapestry is satisfyingly rich and complex, weaving together dozens of characters, major and minor, in a wide spectrum of shades of hero and villain, all vivid and memorable. The settings are equally diverse and evocative. Martin writes as convincingly of tart juices oozing from an apple as of sleet on the side of a mountain, and his book is as much an adventure of the senses as it is of the mind.On the other hand, the thimble-full of living dead and the soupcon of dragons we're served here add little to the story. Or, they may indeed be setting the groundwork for sequels - which seems clear at the end - but their presence in A Game of Thrones seems little more than frost and steam on the window.But 1et's look through the glass at the story within...It's an old one - about a king who recently won power by not the most kosher of means, beset not only by inheritors of the displaced title, but members of his own entourage with sundry axes to grind. So he calls back into service his most trusted friend - a man who, for his part, was thoroughly honorable in the way he helped the king come to power. But the king's new right hand of course comes to the table embroiled in his own familial and political webs, many of which overlap with the king's, and the fun begins. As I say, this is an old story, but Game of Thrones is so well played that, like a vibrant re-make of an old hit record, you can enjoy almost every beat of it. Indeed, Arthurian/Shakespearean clashes among great and lesser lineages, with all the opportunities they afford for exploration of such perennial themes as honor, loyalty, ambition, love in all its forms, are always welcome subjects for science fiction and fantasy. Such political and personal strìngs served as superb accompaniment to the science fiction in Dune, and they're often heart-rending, always provocative and appealing, to behold here - though as a center-stage perfomance, not as background or foreground for fantasy which is barely there. To be sure, a hint of the supenatural, a realm of being beyond our and the characters' rational comprehension, can work very well in some fiction, and does, when it's used that sparing way in Thrones. The extreme north of this Eng1ish-like world, peopled now throughout by a medieval, late-Crusage-level culture, is said to hold more than one kind of cold, slouching beast - remnants or resurgence, maybe both, from a time when these things ravaged humanity. The "Wall," erected long ago to keep these beasts out, and the men sworn to defend it with a pledge to the realm, not to any king or person, make one of the most riveting sinews in the novel. But the actual brief appearance of these cold nightmares-come-true has far less impact than their suggestion. Similarly, the dragons work better as natural history - they're believed to have died out over a century before the action begins in this book, and their skeletons are admired, feared, and lamented by various characters who contemplate them - than as actual hatchlings at the end of the novel.But the dragon thread has other problems. Published as a stand-alone novella in the July 2006 Asimov's Magazine ("B1ood of the Dragon"), it follows the trials and exploits of the overthrown King's two lineal descendants - a brother who is a claimant to the throne with no army, and his sister, whom the brother gives as a bride to a Ghenghis Khan-type character reigning with a vast army in this England's version of Europe and Asia, in hopes of getting that army to cross the "narrow sea" and reclaim the pretender`s throne. The descriptive pssages are marvelous - you can smell the spice, and taste it in every cup of wine Martin renders - but the story as a whole is not special. Derryl Murphy's review of the novella in the Summer 1996 Tangent said it read like a "Reader's Digest" condensation, because its chapters were extracted from the novel. But the truth is that it doesn't work very well in the full novel either, mostly because its story has only the briefest of intersections with the main action in the other threads. These other threads show us two different daughters, a romantic and a tomboy, and how they fare in these lessand-more than chivalrous times; a bastard and a "true-born" hero and another son whose legs are paralyzed but whose mind soars; another family where one son is handsome and vicious and evil yet brave, and his brother - a dwarf, my favorite character in the novel - is conniving, yet so honorable that he pays his debt of gold to a cruel, stupid jailor whom the dwarf has talked into taking a message that will free him. Yes, I liked this dwarf so much that I truly felt glad when, after months of travail, he finally ñnds comfort in a prostitute's arms. The book is so good at this, so real and effective in its complex characterizations, that I would vote it an award just for that, and the dragons be damned. George R R. Martin, however, is at work on a sequel, which according to Asimov's is to be titled Dances with Dragons – the second book in his overall series, A Song of Fire and Ice. I'll eagerly read it for the characters, the plot entwinement, and the prose craft, and hope that the beasts emerge from the cold and the hot a bit better done next time.
Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Car, eHarmony, eMusic, Mozy, Zazzle
The Plot to Save Socrates
"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book
Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
from Tangent Magazine, #16, Fall 1996 A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, Bantam Books, 1996, hardcover, 694 pp.Reviewed by Paul LevinsonGEORGE R. R. MARTIN'S A Game of Thrones - a 694-page novel that begins a series- is in many ways a tale fit for a king.Its tapestry is satisfyingly rich and complex, weaving together dozens of characters, major and minor, in a wide spectrum of shades of hero and villain, all vivid and memorable. The settings are equally diverse and evocative. Martin writes as convincingly of tart juices oozing from an apple as of sleet on the side of a mountain, and his book is as much an adventure of the senses as it is of the mind.On the other hand, the thimble-full of living dead and the soupcon of dragons we're served here add little to the story. Or, they may indeed be setting the groundwork for sequels - which seems clear at the end - but their presence in A Game of Thrones seems little more than frost and steam on the window.But 1et's look through the glass at the story within...It's an old one - about a king who recently won power by not the most kosher of means, beset not only by inheritors of the displaced title, but members of his own entourage with sundry axes to grind. So he calls back into service his most trusted friend - a man who, for his part, was thoroughly honorable in the way he helped the king come to power. But the king's new right hand of course comes to the table embroiled in his own familial and political webs, many of which overlap with the king's, and the fun begins. As I say, this is an old story, but Game of Thrones is so well played that, like a vibrant re-make of an old hit record, you can enjoy almost every beat of it. Indeed, Arthurian/Shakespearean clashes among great and lesser lineages, with all the opportunities they afford for exploration of such perennial themes as honor, loyalty, ambition, love in all its forms, are always welcome subjects for science fiction and fantasy. Such political and personal strìngs served as superb accompaniment to the science fiction in Dune, and they're often heart-rending, always provocative and appealing, to behold here - though as a center-stage perfomance, not as background or foreground for fantasy which is barely there. To be sure, a hint of the supenatural, a realm of being beyond our and the characters' rational comprehension, can work very well in some fiction, and does, when it's used that sparing way in Thrones. The extreme north of this Eng1ish-like world, peopled now throughout by a medieval, late-Crusage-level culture, is said to hold more than one kind of cold, slouching beast - remnants or resurgence, maybe both, from a time when these things ravaged humanity. The "Wall," erected long ago to keep these beasts out, and the men sworn to defend it with a pledge to the realm, not to any king or person, make one of the most riveting sinews in the novel. But the actual brief appearance of these cold nightmares-come-true has far less impact than their suggestion. Similarly, the dragons work better as natural history - they're believed to have died out over a century before the action begins in this book, and their skeletons are admired, feared, and lamented by various characters who contemplate them - than as actual hatchlings at the end of the novel.But the dragon thread has other problems. Published as a stand-alone novella in the July 2006 Asimov's Magazine ("B1ood of the Dragon"), it follows the trials and exploits of the overthrown King's two lineal descendants - a brother who is a claimant to the throne with no army, and his sister, whom the brother gives as a bride to a Ghenghis Khan-type character reigning with a vast army in this England's version of Europe and Asia, in hopes of getting that army to cross the "narrow sea" and reclaim the pretender`s throne. The descriptive pssages are marvelous - you can smell the spice, and taste it in every cup of wine Martin renders - but the story as a whole is not special. Derryl Murphy's review of the novella in the Summer 1996 Tangent said it read like a "Reader's Digest" condensation, because its chapters were extracted from the novel. But the truth is that it doesn't work very well in the full novel either, mostly because its story has only the briefest of intersections with the main action in the other threads. These other threads show us two different daughters, a romantic and a tomboy, and how they fare in these lessand-more than chivalrous times; a bastard and a "true-born" hero and another son whose legs are paralyzed but whose mind soars; another family where one son is handsome and vicious and evil yet brave, and his brother - a dwarf, my favorite character in the novel - is conniving, yet so honorable that he pays his debt of gold to a cruel, stupid jailor whom the dwarf has talked into taking a message that will free him. Yes, I liked this dwarf so much that I truly felt glad when, after months of travail, he finally ñnds comfort in a prostitute's arms. The book is so good at this, so real and effective in its complex characterizations, that I would vote it an award just for that, and the dragons be damned. George R R. Martin, however, is at work on a sequel, which according to Asimov's is to be titled Dances with Dragons – the second book in his overall series, A Song of Fire and Ice. I'll eagerly read it for the characters, the plot entwinement, and the prose craft, and hope that the beasts emerge from the cold and the hot a bit better done next time.
Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Car, eHarmony, eMusic, Mozy, Zazzle
The Plot to Save Socrates
"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book
Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
March 21, 2011
The Event 1.14: Upping the Ante
A mostly 24-like episode of The Event tonight - 1.14 - with the ante significantly raised for the aliens, and to-the-wall moves on all sides.
Thomas's message to his home planet gets a reply: their sun is going nova a lot sooner than expected, as in the first blasts of deadly gamma rays reaching the planet in days. This means that Earth becomes far more crucial: it is the only place any sizeable number of aliens can survive. Forget about attack ships - the alien ships will be more like Noah's Ark.
But that doesn't mean that they won't be deadly to us. Or maybe not. At this point, all bets are off. Maybe Sophia can convince Thomas that a peaceful settlement - an agreement with we Earthlings - is the best way to go. Or maybe he'll convince her to try to exterminate us.
All that's clear now - and not completely - is that the dire message from the home world is bringing Thomas and Sophia closer together. Which, in addition to being likely good for the aliens, is also good for us - easier to destroy the aliens, if that's what we want, if they're mostly in one place.
This, apparently, is what our President wants. The episode ends with our human attack team surrounding the alien gathering...
Meanwhile, Sean and Vicky take another move from 24, and break in to a event back in Washington (Thomas and Sophia are in LA), with an eye towards getting the traitorous VP to tell them something useful about Dempsey. Actually, Sean blackmails Vicki to help him, so the tension is even better. The VP does give the two a little bit of info, with a gun to his head, but Dempsey's true role is still unclear.
It will be interesting to see how Demspey plays out, but if I were the producers of The Event, I would concentrate on the alien story, which thus far is far more interesting. Or maybe not... That Dempsey is one strange dude.
See also The Event Debuts on NBC ... The Event 1.2: Aliens! ... The Event 1.4: 24 Back in Action! ... The Event 1.6: Not Only Aliens, Immortals! ... The Event 1.7: The Portal and its Implications ... The Event 1.8: The "Republican" VP and the Anti-24 ... The Event 1.9: "Native Populations, Indigenous People" ... The Event 1.10: Satellite ... The Event 1.11-12: Hardball in Fiction ... The Event 1.13: A Little to Close to the Reality
Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Car, eHarmony, eMusic, Mozy, Zazzle
The Plot to Save Socrates
"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
Thomas's message to his home planet gets a reply: their sun is going nova a lot sooner than expected, as in the first blasts of deadly gamma rays reaching the planet in days. This means that Earth becomes far more crucial: it is the only place any sizeable number of aliens can survive. Forget about attack ships - the alien ships will be more like Noah's Ark.
But that doesn't mean that they won't be deadly to us. Or maybe not. At this point, all bets are off. Maybe Sophia can convince Thomas that a peaceful settlement - an agreement with we Earthlings - is the best way to go. Or maybe he'll convince her to try to exterminate us.
All that's clear now - and not completely - is that the dire message from the home world is bringing Thomas and Sophia closer together. Which, in addition to being likely good for the aliens, is also good for us - easier to destroy the aliens, if that's what we want, if they're mostly in one place.
This, apparently, is what our President wants. The episode ends with our human attack team surrounding the alien gathering...
Meanwhile, Sean and Vicky take another move from 24, and break in to a event back in Washington (Thomas and Sophia are in LA), with an eye towards getting the traitorous VP to tell them something useful about Dempsey. Actually, Sean blackmails Vicki to help him, so the tension is even better. The VP does give the two a little bit of info, with a gun to his head, but Dempsey's true role is still unclear.
It will be interesting to see how Demspey plays out, but if I were the producers of The Event, I would concentrate on the alien story, which thus far is far more interesting. Or maybe not... That Dempsey is one strange dude.
See also The Event Debuts on NBC ... The Event 1.2: Aliens! ... The Event 1.4: 24 Back in Action! ... The Event 1.6: Not Only Aliens, Immortals! ... The Event 1.7: The Portal and its Implications ... The Event 1.8: The "Republican" VP and the Anti-24 ... The Event 1.9: "Native Populations, Indigenous People" ... The Event 1.10: Satellite ... The Event 1.11-12: Hardball in Fiction ... The Event 1.13: A Little to Close to the Reality
Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Car, eHarmony, eMusic, Mozy, Zazzle
The Plot to Save Socrates
"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
House 7.17: Deadly Healthy Diet
Top-notch House 7.17 tonight - with a fine medical mystery, and a shocker of an ending which fits in with the mystery in more ways than one.
The mystery: In what way could a derelict's life be healthier for him - a diet of garbage and scraps from dumpsters - than the care and nutrition given in a hospital? Allergies and microbes are ruled out. What's left? As House eventually realizes, it's the good, healthy hospital food. The patient is having a reaction to all of these green vegetables. A diet of fatty, sometimes raw scraps of meat is his best medicine.
And the shocker? After the patient, mostly cured, leaves the hospital, the FBI descends on the place. The patient's DNA matches to a serial killer - who eats his victims. No wonder he had a taste for raw meat and his body is used to it.
This is thus an episode about a deadly health diet in two ways: The healthy diet almost killed the patient in the hospital. And the diet which kept him healthy out in the street was deadly - for the victims he consumed.
This also raises the time-honored ethical quandary - once again on House - about whether it's right to use medical knowledge to save a human monster. Chase and Cameron broke up over this last year. And now the team has unknowingly cured a serial killer, and set him loose again in the world. Life ain't easy, and doctoring's even tougher.
Meanwhile, House marries someone more or less to hurt Cuddy, which it does, but she can cope with it. Doesn't matter - the best part of tonight's story was in the plot. Could be a good cross-over to Criminal Minds, if such were possible between networks.
See also House and Cuddy on the Other Side in Season 7 Premiere ... House 7.2: House and Cuddy, Chapter 2 ... House 7.3: The Author and the White Lie ... House 7.9: The Vilda Chaya ... House 7.11: The Patient's Most Important Right ... House 7.14: House, Death, and Cuddy ... House 7.16: Broken Hearts and their Repair
And see also House Reborn in Season Six? ... 6.2: The Gang is Back and Fractured ... 6.3: The Saving Hitler Quandary ... 6.4: Diagnosis vs. Karma ... 6.5 Getting Better ... 6.6 House Around the Bases ... Four's a Crowd on House 6.7 ... House 6.8 and the Reverse of Flowers for Algernon ... House 6.9: Wilson ... House 6.10: Back in Business ... House 6.11: Making Amends, Mending Fences, and a Psychopath ... House 6.12: The Progression to Mensch ... House 6.13: Cuddy's Perspective ... House Meets Blogger in 6.14 ... House 6.15: About Taub ... House 6.16: Revealing Couples ... House 6.17: Socrates on Steroids ... House 6.18: Open Marriage
Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Car, eHarmony, eMusic, Mozy, Zazzle
The Plot to Save Socrates
"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
The mystery: In what way could a derelict's life be healthier for him - a diet of garbage and scraps from dumpsters - than the care and nutrition given in a hospital? Allergies and microbes are ruled out. What's left? As House eventually realizes, it's the good, healthy hospital food. The patient is having a reaction to all of these green vegetables. A diet of fatty, sometimes raw scraps of meat is his best medicine.
And the shocker? After the patient, mostly cured, leaves the hospital, the FBI descends on the place. The patient's DNA matches to a serial killer - who eats his victims. No wonder he had a taste for raw meat and his body is used to it.
This is thus an episode about a deadly health diet in two ways: The healthy diet almost killed the patient in the hospital. And the diet which kept him healthy out in the street was deadly - for the victims he consumed.
This also raises the time-honored ethical quandary - once again on House - about whether it's right to use medical knowledge to save a human monster. Chase and Cameron broke up over this last year. And now the team has unknowingly cured a serial killer, and set him loose again in the world. Life ain't easy, and doctoring's even tougher.
Meanwhile, House marries someone more or less to hurt Cuddy, which it does, but she can cope with it. Doesn't matter - the best part of tonight's story was in the plot. Could be a good cross-over to Criminal Minds, if such were possible between networks.
See also House and Cuddy on the Other Side in Season 7 Premiere ... House 7.2: House and Cuddy, Chapter 2 ... House 7.3: The Author and the White Lie ... House 7.9: The Vilda Chaya ... House 7.11: The Patient's Most Important Right ... House 7.14: House, Death, and Cuddy ... House 7.16: Broken Hearts and their Repair
And see also House Reborn in Season Six? ... 6.2: The Gang is Back and Fractured ... 6.3: The Saving Hitler Quandary ... 6.4: Diagnosis vs. Karma ... 6.5 Getting Better ... 6.6 House Around the Bases ... Four's a Crowd on House 6.7 ... House 6.8 and the Reverse of Flowers for Algernon ... House 6.9: Wilson ... House 6.10: Back in Business ... House 6.11: Making Amends, Mending Fences, and a Psychopath ... House 6.12: The Progression to Mensch ... House 6.13: Cuddy's Perspective ... House Meets Blogger in 6.14 ... House 6.15: About Taub ... House 6.16: Revealing Couples ... House 6.17: Socrates on Steroids ... House 6.18: Open Marriage
Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Car, eHarmony, eMusic, Mozy, Zazzle
The Plot to Save Socrates
"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
March 20, 2011
Detroit 1-8-7
Just caught the season finale of Detroit 1-8-7 - been watching and enjoying the series since it began - and the finale was superb. A realistic, satisfying ending.
The series started off a little slowly in the Fall. Formulaic two cases per episode, rarely intersecting. But an outstanding Detroit locale. Between that and new Chrysler commercials, I almost want to live there (I'm an incorrigible New Yorker).
The acting has been powerful throughout. With Michael Imperioli and James McDaniels (Lt. from NYPD Blue), how can you miss. And, in fact, this easily is Imperioli's best role since The Sopranos, and McDaniels may be even better here than on NYPD Blue, playing a detective close to retiring.
But the rest of the cast and characters are fine, too - even McDaniels' partner (played by Shaun Majumder), which easily could have been a throwaway role, makes a unique, memorable impression.
And with the last few episodes, the series has come into its own. Surprising deaths and other twists, stories which get to the hearts of the characters. Especially effective was Imperioli's son Vadim playing Imperioli's character Fitch's son - a cool, younger version of the father, with similar body language and expressions, as well as sharp dialogue.
If you missed Detroit 1-8-7, catch it on Netflix or whatever when it's out. And here's hoping that we get to see more of Detroit and this story in the Fall. I'd really enjoy another weekly series of visits.
Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
The series started off a little slowly in the Fall. Formulaic two cases per episode, rarely intersecting. But an outstanding Detroit locale. Between that and new Chrysler commercials, I almost want to live there (I'm an incorrigible New Yorker).
The acting has been powerful throughout. With Michael Imperioli and James McDaniels (Lt. from NYPD Blue), how can you miss. And, in fact, this easily is Imperioli's best role since The Sopranos, and McDaniels may be even better here than on NYPD Blue, playing a detective close to retiring.
But the rest of the cast and characters are fine, too - even McDaniels' partner (played by Shaun Majumder), which easily could have been a throwaway role, makes a unique, memorable impression.
And with the last few episodes, the series has come into its own. Surprising deaths and other twists, stories which get to the hearts of the characters. Especially effective was Imperioli's son Vadim playing Imperioli's character Fitch's son - a cool, younger version of the father, with similar body language and expressions, as well as sharp dialogue.
If you missed Detroit 1-8-7, catch it on Netflix or whatever when it's out. And here's hoping that we get to see more of Detroit and this story in the Fall. I'd really enjoy another weekly series of visits.
Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
Detroit 187
Just caught the season finale of Detroit 187 - been watching and enjoying the series since it began - and the finale was superb. A realistic, satisfying ending.
The series started off a little slowly in the Fall. Formulaic two cases per episode, rarely intersecting. But an outstanding Detroit locale. Between that and new Chrysler commercials, I almost want to live there (I'm an incorrigible New Yorker).
The acting has been powerful throughout. With Michael Imperioli and James McDaniels (Lt. from NYPD Blue), how can you miss. And, in fact, this easily is Imperioli's best role since The Sopranos, and McDaniels may be even better here than on NYPD Blue, playing a detective close to retiring.
But the rest of the cast and characters are fine, too - even McDaniels' partner (played by Shaun Majumder), which easily could have been a throwaway role, makes a unique, memorable impression.
And with the last few episodes, the series has come into its own. Surprising deaths and other twists, stories which get to the hearts of the characters. Especially effective was Imperioli's son Vadim playing Imperioli's character Fitch's son - a cool version younger version of the father, with similar body language and expressions, as well as sharp dialogue.
If you missed Detroit 187, catch it on Netflix or whatever when it's out. And here's hoping that we get to see more of Detroit and this story in the Fall. I'd really enjoy another weekly series of visits.
Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
The series started off a little slowly in the Fall. Formulaic two cases per episode, rarely intersecting. But an outstanding Detroit locale. Between that and new Chrysler commercials, I almost want to live there (I'm an incorrigible New Yorker).
The acting has been powerful throughout. With Michael Imperioli and James McDaniels (Lt. from NYPD Blue), how can you miss. And, in fact, this easily is Imperioli's best role since The Sopranos, and McDaniels may be even better here than on NYPD Blue, playing a detective close to retiring.
But the rest of the cast and characters are fine, too - even McDaniels' partner (played by Shaun Majumder), which easily could have been a throwaway role, makes a unique, memorable impression.
And with the last few episodes, the series has come into its own. Surprising deaths and other twists, stories which get to the hearts of the characters. Especially effective was Imperioli's son Vadim playing Imperioli's character Fitch's son - a cool version younger version of the father, with similar body language and expressions, as well as sharp dialogue.
If you missed Detroit 187, catch it on Netflix or whatever when it's out. And here's hoping that we get to see more of Detroit and this story in the Fall. I'd really enjoy another weekly series of visits.
Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
Big Love Ends
I liked everything about the series finale of Big Love, just on HBO, except one thing. If you haven't seen it, don't read on ...
The shocker near the end of last episode of Big Love was certainly not satisfying, and only appropriate if one values metaphor above the lessons of real life. After surmounting most of the obstacles facing him - keeping his family together, starting his church, which has nearly 500 people coming to its opening after Bill stands up in the Utah Senate and introduces an amendment which would legalize polygamy - after doing all of that, Bill is shot dead by his off-balance neighbor.
Yes, you could say that this was appropriate, given that Bill had completed his mission here on Earth. Yes, this ending gives us the O'Henry-esque twist of not being able to escape one's fate. Bill dodged Alby's intent on shooting him, last week, only to succumb to the deranged neighbor's bullet tonight.
Yes, you can say all of that, and it would be true and well-taken, but I still would have preferred an ending that left Bill alive. Had Bill been convicted and gone off to prison, the excellent very last scenes could have been exactly same: Sarah and her husband and baby back home, Barb presiding over the christening, Margene about to leave on another trip, and everyone with tears in their eyes because Bill wasn't there.
But I thank Big Love, its writers and producers and performers, for a great run. The show will go down as one of the best ever on television.
See also Big Love's Back and North to Alaska ... Big Love 5.3: Grim Christmas ... Big Love 5.5: Barb's Deal ... Big Love 5.6: "I'll Be There" ... Big Love 5.7: Couples ... Big Love 5.8: Casting First Stones ... Penultimate Big Love
See also Big Love Season 4 Start with Casino, Psycho, and Birds ... Big Love 4.2: Politician or Prophet? ... Big Love 4.3: Super-Compressed, Super-Fine ... Big Love 4.4: Bill and Don
... The Potential for Brilliance in Big Love 4.5 ... Big Love 4.6: Barb Ascendant ... Nearly Gunfight at the OK Corral for Big Love 4.7 ... Big Love Breakout Season 4 Finale
See also: Big Love, Season 3 ... 1. a 4th ... 2. Two Issues Resolved, Two Not So Much ... 6. Exquisite, Perfectly Played ... Big Love Season 3 Finale: Bigger Love ...
And from Season 2: 2: Oh, Happy Day, and Not ... 3: Sons and Mothers ... 4. Help Me, Rhonda ... 5. The Waitress and More... 6. Just Lust ... 7. Margene's Mama ... 8. Polygamy and Misgivings ... 9. Swing Vote Margene ... 10. Polygamy as the Ultimate Cool/Bad ... 11. Family in Crisis ... Big Love Season 2 Concludes
Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Car, eHarmony, eMusic, Mozy, Zazzle
The Plot to Save Socrates
"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
The shocker near the end of last episode of Big Love was certainly not satisfying, and only appropriate if one values metaphor above the lessons of real life. After surmounting most of the obstacles facing him - keeping his family together, starting his church, which has nearly 500 people coming to its opening after Bill stands up in the Utah Senate and introduces an amendment which would legalize polygamy - after doing all of that, Bill is shot dead by his off-balance neighbor.
Yes, you could say that this was appropriate, given that Bill had completed his mission here on Earth. Yes, this ending gives us the O'Henry-esque twist of not being able to escape one's fate. Bill dodged Alby's intent on shooting him, last week, only to succumb to the deranged neighbor's bullet tonight.
Yes, you can say all of that, and it would be true and well-taken, but I still would have preferred an ending that left Bill alive. Had Bill been convicted and gone off to prison, the excellent very last scenes could have been exactly same: Sarah and her husband and baby back home, Barb presiding over the christening, Margene about to leave on another trip, and everyone with tears in their eyes because Bill wasn't there.
But I thank Big Love, its writers and producers and performers, for a great run. The show will go down as one of the best ever on television.
See also Big Love's Back and North to Alaska ... Big Love 5.3: Grim Christmas ... Big Love 5.5: Barb's Deal ... Big Love 5.6: "I'll Be There" ... Big Love 5.7: Couples ... Big Love 5.8: Casting First Stones ... Penultimate Big Love
See also Big Love Season 4 Start with Casino, Psycho, and Birds ... Big Love 4.2: Politician or Prophet? ... Big Love 4.3: Super-Compressed, Super-Fine ... Big Love 4.4: Bill and Don
... The Potential for Brilliance in Big Love 4.5 ... Big Love 4.6: Barb Ascendant ... Nearly Gunfight at the OK Corral for Big Love 4.7 ... Big Love Breakout Season 4 Finale
See also: Big Love, Season 3 ... 1. a 4th ... 2. Two Issues Resolved, Two Not So Much ... 6. Exquisite, Perfectly Played ... Big Love Season 3 Finale: Bigger Love ...
And from Season 2: 2: Oh, Happy Day, and Not ... 3: Sons and Mothers ... 4. Help Me, Rhonda ... 5. The Waitress and More... 6. Just Lust ... 7. Margene's Mama ... 8. Polygamy and Misgivings ... 9. Swing Vote Margene ... 10. Polygamy as the Ultimate Cool/Bad ... 11. Family in Crisis ... Big Love Season 2 Concludes
Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Car, eHarmony, eMusic, Mozy, Zazzle
The Plot to Save Socrates
"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
March 18, 2011
Fringe 3.17: Bell, Olivia, Lee, and the Cow
Well, the most exciting part of Fringe 3.17 tonight was likely supposed to be Olivia channeling Bell - and Anna Torv did put in a fine performance (in addition to the excellent portrayals of Olivia and Fauxlivia she's already given us this season) - but my favorite part was seeing Lee (Seth Gabel) at work in our reality. He's outfitted here with glasses, but his persona came through. He might even be Lee from the other side - the one we know as leader now of their Fringe division - but my guess is we saw his alternate self here, attracted to our Fringe for the same reason he became a Fringe agent over there. Nice work, in all cases.
Meanwhile, Bell is inhabiting Olivia, whom Bell assures us is just fine. But there is a need to get him into a more suitable vessel, and it occurred to me before the characters even said it that it might be the cow (occurred to me because Bell said his new host did not even have to be human). Finally, a use for that cow, other than as an emblem of Walter's charming nut-cased-ness! But at the end of tonight's episode, Bell learns that his transfer to another living body may not be easy - it may be that any time a bell rings his soul is summoned somewhere.
Carpica also has a role in tonight's show - at least, Paula Malcomsom played the sympathetic villain tonight - a woman who will do just about anything to join her husband and son, killed in accident, which she was in, too, but for some reason didn't die.
Actually, that reason has something to do with the deterioration of our universe because of Walter's breach, which brings me back to wanting not standalone stories, but more of the riveting central story of Fringe.
See also Fringe 3.1: The Other Olivia ... Fringe 3.2: Bad Olivia and Peter ... Fringe 3.3: Our/Their Olivia on the Other Side ... Fringe 3.5: Back from Hiatus, Back from the Amber ... Fringe 3.7: Two Universes Still Nearing Collision ... Fringe 3.8: Long Voyages Home ... Fringe 3.10: The Return of the Eternal Bald Observers ... Flowers for Fringenon in Fringe 3.11 ... Fringe 3.12: The Wrong Coffee ... Fringe 3.13: Alternate Fringe ... Fringe 3.14: Amber Here ... Fringe 3.15: Young Peter and Olivia ... Fringe 3.16: Walter and Yoko
See also reviews of Season 2: Top Notch Return of Fringe Second Season ... Fringe 2.2 and The Mole People ... Fringe 2.3 and the Human Body as Bomb ... Fringe 2.4 Unfolds and Takes Wing ... Fringe 2.5: Peter in Alternate Reality and Wi-Fi for the Mind ... A Different Stripe of Fringe in 2.6 ... The Kid Who Changed Minds in Fringe 2.7 ... Fringe 2.8: The Eternal Bald Observers ... Fringe 2.9: Walter's Journey ... Fringe 2.10: Walter's Brain, Harry Potter, and Flowers for Algernon ... New Fringe on Monday Night: In Alternate Universe? ... Fringe 2.12: Classic Science Fiction Chiante ... Fringe 2.13: "I Can't Let Peter Die Again" ... Fringe 2.14: Walter's Health, Books, and Father ... Fringe 2.15: I'll Take 'Manhatan' ... Fringe 2.16: Peter's Story ... Fringe 2.17: Will Olivia Tell Peter? ... Fringe 2.18: Strangeness on a Train ... Fringe 2.19: Two Plus Infinity ... Fringe the Noir Musical ... Fringe 2.21: Bring on the Alternates ... Fringe 2.22: Tin Soldiers and Nixon Coming ... Fringe Season 2 Finale: The Switch
See also reviews of Season One Fringe Begins ... Fringe 2 and 3: The Anthology Tightrope ... 4: The Eternal Bald Observer ... 7: A Bullet Can Scramble a Dead Brain's Transmission ... 8. Heroic Walter and Apple Through Steel ... 9. Razor-Tipped Butterflies of the Mind ... 10. Shattered Pieces Come Together Through Space and Times ... 11. A Traitor, a Crimimal, and a Lunatic ... 12, 13, 14: Fringe and Teleportation ... 15: Fringe is Back with Feral Child, Pheromones, and Bald Men ... 17. Fringe in New York, with Oliva as Her Suspect ... 18. Heroes and Villains across Fringe ... Stephen King, Arthur C. Clarke, and Star Trek in Penultimate Fringe ... Fringe Alternate Reality Finale: Science Fiction At Its Best
Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Car, eHarmony, eMusic, Mozy, Zazzle
The Plot to Save Socrates
"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
Meanwhile, Bell is inhabiting Olivia, whom Bell assures us is just fine. But there is a need to get him into a more suitable vessel, and it occurred to me before the characters even said it that it might be the cow (occurred to me because Bell said his new host did not even have to be human). Finally, a use for that cow, other than as an emblem of Walter's charming nut-cased-ness! But at the end of tonight's episode, Bell learns that his transfer to another living body may not be easy - it may be that any time a bell rings his soul is summoned somewhere.
Carpica also has a role in tonight's show - at least, Paula Malcomsom played the sympathetic villain tonight - a woman who will do just about anything to join her husband and son, killed in accident, which she was in, too, but for some reason didn't die.
Actually, that reason has something to do with the deterioration of our universe because of Walter's breach, which brings me back to wanting not standalone stories, but more of the riveting central story of Fringe.
See also Fringe 3.1: The Other Olivia ... Fringe 3.2: Bad Olivia and Peter ... Fringe 3.3: Our/Their Olivia on the Other Side ... Fringe 3.5: Back from Hiatus, Back from the Amber ... Fringe 3.7: Two Universes Still Nearing Collision ... Fringe 3.8: Long Voyages Home ... Fringe 3.10: The Return of the Eternal Bald Observers ... Flowers for Fringenon in Fringe 3.11 ... Fringe 3.12: The Wrong Coffee ... Fringe 3.13: Alternate Fringe ... Fringe 3.14: Amber Here ... Fringe 3.15: Young Peter and Olivia ... Fringe 3.16: Walter and Yoko
See also reviews of Season 2: Top Notch Return of Fringe Second Season ... Fringe 2.2 and The Mole People ... Fringe 2.3 and the Human Body as Bomb ... Fringe 2.4 Unfolds and Takes Wing ... Fringe 2.5: Peter in Alternate Reality and Wi-Fi for the Mind ... A Different Stripe of Fringe in 2.6 ... The Kid Who Changed Minds in Fringe 2.7 ... Fringe 2.8: The Eternal Bald Observers ... Fringe 2.9: Walter's Journey ... Fringe 2.10: Walter's Brain, Harry Potter, and Flowers for Algernon ... New Fringe on Monday Night: In Alternate Universe? ... Fringe 2.12: Classic Science Fiction Chiante ... Fringe 2.13: "I Can't Let Peter Die Again" ... Fringe 2.14: Walter's Health, Books, and Father ... Fringe 2.15: I'll Take 'Manhatan' ... Fringe 2.16: Peter's Story ... Fringe 2.17: Will Olivia Tell Peter? ... Fringe 2.18: Strangeness on a Train ... Fringe 2.19: Two Plus Infinity ... Fringe the Noir Musical ... Fringe 2.21: Bring on the Alternates ... Fringe 2.22: Tin Soldiers and Nixon Coming ... Fringe Season 2 Finale: The Switch
See also reviews of Season One Fringe Begins ... Fringe 2 and 3: The Anthology Tightrope ... 4: The Eternal Bald Observer ... 7: A Bullet Can Scramble a Dead Brain's Transmission ... 8. Heroic Walter and Apple Through Steel ... 9. Razor-Tipped Butterflies of the Mind ... 10. Shattered Pieces Come Together Through Space and Times ... 11. A Traitor, a Crimimal, and a Lunatic ... 12, 13, 14: Fringe and Teleportation ... 15: Fringe is Back with Feral Child, Pheromones, and Bald Men ... 17. Fringe in New York, with Oliva as Her Suspect ... 18. Heroes and Villains across Fringe ... Stephen King, Arthur C. Clarke, and Star Trek in Penultimate Fringe ... Fringe Alternate Reality Finale: Science Fiction At Its Best
Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Car, eHarmony, eMusic, Mozy, Zazzle
The Plot to Save Socrates
"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
On the Road to Another Unconstitutional War?
Korea, Vietnam, Iraq1, Serbia, Afghanistan, Iraq2 all have something in common: wars the US pursued without the Declaration of War explicitly required in our Constitution by both houses of Congress. Call them military actions, joint efforts pursuant to UN resolutions, whatever. Grant that they were justified, for security or ethical reasons, or not. What they all have in common is that were (and are) illegal.
And they by and large have not been very successful, with Vietnam the least, and Iraq and Afghanistan not very far behind. Some of these started with small commitments of our military, others with massive "shock and awe". But unlike World Wars 1 and 2 - the last two wars which we did declare and therefore pursued legally - we achieved no clear-cut victories. Korea is still split, Vietnam went totally over to the adversary, and the fate of Iraq and Afghanistan are still in contention. Only Serbia can be counted as the one sort-of success.
And now, President Obama has told us that we've moved to the verge of another unconstitutional war. The US will help enforce a no-fly zone in Libya. That means taking our Libyan air defenses and shooting down their planes, if necessary. Very close to war - indeed, actually in a phase a war, by any reasonable standard.
Once again we'll be gambling - that his action turns out more like Serbia than Vietnam.
But we'd be better off not going down that road again at all. Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
And they by and large have not been very successful, with Vietnam the least, and Iraq and Afghanistan not very far behind. Some of these started with small commitments of our military, others with massive "shock and awe". But unlike World Wars 1 and 2 - the last two wars which we did declare and therefore pursued legally - we achieved no clear-cut victories. Korea is still split, Vietnam went totally over to the adversary, and the fate of Iraq and Afghanistan are still in contention. Only Serbia can be counted as the one sort-of success.
And now, President Obama has told us that we've moved to the verge of another unconstitutional war. The US will help enforce a no-fly zone in Libya. That means taking our Libyan air defenses and shooting down their planes, if necessary. Very close to war - indeed, actually in a phase a war, by any reasonable standard.
Once again we'll be gambling - that his action turns out more like Serbia than Vietnam.
But we'd be better off not going down that road again at all. Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
March 17, 2011
Bones 6.16: Stuck in an Elevator, Stuck in Time
What better place than to be stuck in an elevator, if you're two people with deep, wild passion and affection for each other - which, for a variety of reasons, has not yet been consummated - and, just to make matters even more jagged, neither one until now, for different reasons, really wants to talk to the other about?
This is just what happens to Bones and Booth in tonight's episode 6.16. Sweets, outside of the elevator, starts the proceedings by urging the two to talk - which, of course, they don't. But Booth gets off the second best line of the night, when he tells Sweets to "stop shrinking around the bush". (The best is a series of three "hellos" - too much to explain, you have to see it.)
As time goes on - with Bones consulting with the team by phone on the case back at the Jeffersonian, and everyone stuck also in a snow storm - Bones asks Booth if maybe they should start talking about their relationship. This a significant development - that is, Bones, in her new, more assertive role with Booth - but he says no.
Later in the elevator, Bones and Booth resume their crucial conversation. This time, Bones delivers one of the most important declarations we've ever heard her make to Booth: she's sure they would be great in bed together, and she explains why. Booth cannot disagree, but still seeks to maintain some distance by saying, great in bed together, sure, but not in a relationship. Bones - again, with a new wisdom about the best thing to say to Booth - agrees. This promising conversation might have gone even further, but Sweets comes back in from the cold and unknowingly ends the very conversation he wanted to induce.
But there's more. In one of the best last scenes between Bones and Booth, we find them back together, out of the elevator in a nice comfy apartment with candle light, for their post-case conversation. Bones, still driving these exchanges, explains to Booth that whereas she was once just impervious to hurt (meaning she felt no pain), now she's traded most of that in for strength - she can deal with pain when it arises. Booth, despite what he's been saying so far, is moved by that. The night ends with both of them writing on a piece of paper how long each thinks it will take Booth to get beyond his issues so the two can be totally, satisfyingly together. But they don't show each other the estimates - and instead commit them to the candle's flame.
My take: I hope each wrote five minutes, or some very short time. I'd also like to have seen - broken record that I am on this point - Bones reach over and kiss Booth. That, especially after their conversations, would have been the best way to get Booth beyond his perceived need for more time.
But what did they really write on the paper in this story? And did they write the same, or nearly the same, times? The still secret answer to that is what keeps this fine show going.
See also Bones 6.1: The Linchpin ... Bones 6.2: Hannah and her Prospects ... Bones 6.3 at the Jersey Shore, Yo, and Plymouth Rock ... Bones 6.4 Sans Hannah ... Bones 6.5: Shot and Pretty ... Bones 6.6: Accidental Relations ... Bones 6.7: Newman and "Death by Chocolate" ... Bones 6.8: Melted Bones ... Bones 6.9: Adelbert Ames, Jr. ... Bones 6.10: Reflections ... Bones 6.11: The End and the Beginning of a Mystery ... Bones 6.12 Meets Big Love ... Bones 6.13: The Marrying Kind ... Bones 6.14: Bones' Acting Ability ... Bones 6.15: "Lunch for the Palin Family"
And see also Bones: Hilarity and Crime and Bones is Back For Season 5: What Is Love? and 5.2: Anonymous Donors and Pipes and 5.3: Bones in Amish Country and 5.4: Bones Meets Peyton Place and Desperate Housewives and Ancient Bones 5.5 and Bones 5.6: A Chicken in Every Viewer's Pot and Psychological Bones 5.7 and Bones 5.8: Booth's "Pops" and Bones 5.9 Meets Avatar and Videogamers ... Bad Santa, Heart-Warming Bones 5.10 ... Bones 5.11: Of UFOs, Bloggers, and Triangles ... Bones 5.12: A Famous Skeleton and Angela's Baby ... Love with Teeth on Bones 5.13 ... Faith vs. Science vs. Psychology in Bones 5.14 ... Page 187 in Bones 5.15 ... Bones 100: Two Deep Kisses and One Wild Relationship ... Bones 5.17: The Deadly Stars ... Bones Under Water in 5.18 ... Bones 5.19: Ergo Together ... Bones 5.20: Ergo Together ... Bones 5.21: The Rarity of Happy Endings ... Bones Season 5 Finale: Eye and Evolution
Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Car, eHarmony, eMusic, Mozy, Zazzle
The Plot to Save Socrates
"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
This is just what happens to Bones and Booth in tonight's episode 6.16. Sweets, outside of the elevator, starts the proceedings by urging the two to talk - which, of course, they don't. But Booth gets off the second best line of the night, when he tells Sweets to "stop shrinking around the bush". (The best is a series of three "hellos" - too much to explain, you have to see it.)
As time goes on - with Bones consulting with the team by phone on the case back at the Jeffersonian, and everyone stuck also in a snow storm - Bones asks Booth if maybe they should start talking about their relationship. This a significant development - that is, Bones, in her new, more assertive role with Booth - but he says no.
Later in the elevator, Bones and Booth resume their crucial conversation. This time, Bones delivers one of the most important declarations we've ever heard her make to Booth: she's sure they would be great in bed together, and she explains why. Booth cannot disagree, but still seeks to maintain some distance by saying, great in bed together, sure, but not in a relationship. Bones - again, with a new wisdom about the best thing to say to Booth - agrees. This promising conversation might have gone even further, but Sweets comes back in from the cold and unknowingly ends the very conversation he wanted to induce.
But there's more. In one of the best last scenes between Bones and Booth, we find them back together, out of the elevator in a nice comfy apartment with candle light, for their post-case conversation. Bones, still driving these exchanges, explains to Booth that whereas she was once just impervious to hurt (meaning she felt no pain), now she's traded most of that in for strength - she can deal with pain when it arises. Booth, despite what he's been saying so far, is moved by that. The night ends with both of them writing on a piece of paper how long each thinks it will take Booth to get beyond his issues so the two can be totally, satisfyingly together. But they don't show each other the estimates - and instead commit them to the candle's flame.
My take: I hope each wrote five minutes, or some very short time. I'd also like to have seen - broken record that I am on this point - Bones reach over and kiss Booth. That, especially after their conversations, would have been the best way to get Booth beyond his perceived need for more time.
But what did they really write on the paper in this story? And did they write the same, or nearly the same, times? The still secret answer to that is what keeps this fine show going.
See also Bones 6.1: The Linchpin ... Bones 6.2: Hannah and her Prospects ... Bones 6.3 at the Jersey Shore, Yo, and Plymouth Rock ... Bones 6.4 Sans Hannah ... Bones 6.5: Shot and Pretty ... Bones 6.6: Accidental Relations ... Bones 6.7: Newman and "Death by Chocolate" ... Bones 6.8: Melted Bones ... Bones 6.9: Adelbert Ames, Jr. ... Bones 6.10: Reflections ... Bones 6.11: The End and the Beginning of a Mystery ... Bones 6.12 Meets Big Love ... Bones 6.13: The Marrying Kind ... Bones 6.14: Bones' Acting Ability ... Bones 6.15: "Lunch for the Palin Family"
And see also Bones: Hilarity and Crime and Bones is Back For Season 5: What Is Love? and 5.2: Anonymous Donors and Pipes and 5.3: Bones in Amish Country and 5.4: Bones Meets Peyton Place and Desperate Housewives and Ancient Bones 5.5 and Bones 5.6: A Chicken in Every Viewer's Pot and Psychological Bones 5.7 and Bones 5.8: Booth's "Pops" and Bones 5.9 Meets Avatar and Videogamers ... Bad Santa, Heart-Warming Bones 5.10 ... Bones 5.11: Of UFOs, Bloggers, and Triangles ... Bones 5.12: A Famous Skeleton and Angela's Baby ... Love with Teeth on Bones 5.13 ... Faith vs. Science vs. Psychology in Bones 5.14 ... Page 187 in Bones 5.15 ... Bones 100: Two Deep Kisses and One Wild Relationship ... Bones 5.17: The Deadly Stars ... Bones Under Water in 5.18 ... Bones 5.19: Ergo Together ... Bones 5.20: Ergo Together ... Bones 5.21: The Rarity of Happy Endings ... Bones Season 5 Finale: Eye and Evolution
Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Car, eHarmony, eMusic, Mozy, Zazzle
The Plot to Save Socrates
"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
Levinson at Large
At present, I'll be automatically porting over blog posts from my main blog, Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress. These consist of literate (I hope) reviews of mostly television, with some reviews of mov
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