Paul Levinson's Blog: Levinson at Large, page 83

CSI: Vegas 1.7: Monet, Grissom, and Truth

My favorite line in tonight's CSI: Vegas 1.7 comes from Grissom, who tells Max, working on a complex splatter pattern, "There's a killer's signature in there somewhere, Monet". Impressionism has always been my favorite kind of painting, and Monet my favorite Impressionist, but I would've liked that line, anyway, because it captures Grissom's fount of erudition. And, it doesn't hurt that I also put Monet's name in one of my novelettes.

Much later in the hour, Grissom is in a conversation with Wix's sister, who tells him, "The best story wins." All too true, and not a commentary on the best novelette or best movie or TV series. It's rather part of an attack on the truth, that has always played a role in the heroes versus villains in CSI, and now threatens our democracy. I hate to get all political in a review like this, but that's exactly what happens when a former President says over and over again that he won the election that booted him out of office, when misinformation spreads like wildfire about the COVID pandemic, which is still causing unnecessary deaths in people who deny the value of powerfully effective vaccines, etc.

Grissom has so far not voiced an explicit opinion about Trump or the pandemic, but there's no doubt where he stands on truth and evidence. A little after Wix's sister's denunciation of truth, Grissom indeed laments the attack that truth is currently enduring in our world. As not only a scientist, but someone who works to bring criminals to justice, Grissom makes a good spokesman for truth. I'd certainly vote for him if he ran for office.

Meanwhile, there's a nice bombshell at the end of this excellent episode. I'll be back here next week, with a review of how all that works out.

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Published on November 17, 2021 21:15

La Brea 1.8: Clearer Visions

Well, we learned some crucially enlightening things in La Brea 1.8 tonight, and they were a pleasure for my time-traveling eyes to behold.

[Spoilers follow]

The big reveal is Isaiah, the blond boy who has been spying on our 2021 friends back in prehistoric La Brea, circa 10, 000 BC, is none other than Gavin, who in our present has been having all-too-accurate visions of that past. The reason those visions are accurate is they are memories of what Isaiah actually saw -- before he took that time sink in reverse (what can we call that -- a time fountain?) and wound up as a boy in the 1980s, whose name at some point changed to Gavin.

This a nice bit of time travel twistery, and it will be fun to see how it all plays out.

Rebecca, seriously wounded in the past, of course tells Eve that she has to save Isaiah, wrest him from the dangerous control of that old guy who stabbed Rebecca to get control of Isaiah, presumably to keep the boy from taking that sink hole fountain back up to our much more recent past in the 1980s. Why he wants to do that is not yet clear. Applying the metaphysics of time travel, we could say, no problem, of course he can't succeed, Isaiah who becomes Gavin is in our present right now, right?

But the makers of La Brea could choose to ignore those metaphysics, and have Isaiah kept in the prehistoric past anyway. Though I doubt that will happen, it could lead to a daring move in which what we've seen in the past eight episodes didn't happen -- as Rebecca warns Eve, she has no children with Gavin, because he never make it to our present, etc. This, then, could be the beginning of a whole new narrative we see in a whole new season, which we'll see next year (La Brea, by the way, has just been renewed -- good!)

But, as I say, that's unlikely to happen, and I'll settle for seeing what happens to Gavin and Eve, separated now by 12, 000 years.

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Published on November 16, 2021 20:57

Interview with Sergio Pistoi, Author of DNA Nation

Among the topics Sergio Pistoi and I discuss in this wide-ranging interview: DNA and social media, DNA and the criminal justice system, DNA as a predictor of health, genotype vs phenotype, COVID-19 pandemic, DNA and science fiction.

My written review of DNA NationMore about Sergio Pistoi's DNA Nation: How the Internet of Genes is Changing Your Life More about The Silk Code (discussed in this interview)

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Published on November 16, 2021 17:56

Audio Podcast: Who Killed JFK: Interview with Walter Herbst

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 211, in which I intervew Walter Herbst about his just-published two-volume book, It Did Not Start with JFK: The Decades of Events That Led to the Assassination of John F Kennedy

video of our conversation more about the book here

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Published on November 15, 2021 21:06

Who Killed JFK: Interview with Walter Herbst

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 211, in which I intervew Walter Herbst about his just-published two-volume book, It Did Not Start with JFK: The Decades of Events That Led to the Assassination of John F Kennedy

video of our conversation more about the book here

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Published on November 15, 2021 21:06

Baptiste 2.5: Will's Story

We found out a lot in Baptiste 2.5, as Will finally started talking.

[More spoilers follow.]

We learn that Alex and Will turned to terrorism in Europe, after their beloved sister was killed in their home in England, with the whole family at home, by an intruder. The intruder was not a Brit, but someone whom the xenophobic white supremacists in Hungary were opposing, and shooting up the country to extirpate. Emma says she'll get Will psychological help, and he certainly needs it. The plot could use a little help too -- it seems a bit of stretch that even their sister being murdered would lead to Alex and Will murdering innocent civilians in Hungary, just to make their point.

Will says he regrets his mother being paralyzed and his father being killed by the terrorist who, he says, kidnapped Alex and him -- so we see at least Will's version of how his father was killed, which may be true, who knows -- but then Will lies to his mother about needing the restraints on his hands removed because they hurt. Which they probably did, but Will was using this as an excuse to escape, which he did.

Baptiste wouldn't have fallen for this, but he was investigating part of Will's story, about being locked in a basement, only to discover that Will was lying. This was a nice touch in the narrative. Baptiste discovers Will is a liar, unfortunately miles away from Emma taking off his hand restraints, believing him to be telling the truth.

So what's left for the finale is will Baptiste find Will and the terrorist mastermind Gomorrah before they unleash another bloodbath, even worse than the one which ended in Emma being shot in the back and Baptiste unknowingly killing Alex? One thing we do know is that Celia seems implacable about not wanting Baptiste back, and I'm hoping she changes her mind.

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Published on November 14, 2021 21:54

Hightown 2.5: Bullets and Love

Whew, a powerful, life-changing episode of 2.5 of Hightown indeed!

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Let's see if I have all of this right. It starts when Renee gets into a minor car accident, and that puts her in touch with she really wants to keep her baby. We learned in any earlier episode that she knows who the father is. Episode 1.5 ends with her coming to see Ray, and telling him she loves him. This means the father is Ray. And I also think she really does love him.

She came at a very good time for Ray. He was close to taking his life, after being beaten to a pulp by a kid whom Ray arrested (I guess last season, I don't exactly recall) and the kid's father. Remind me not to go out for fast food take out on the Cape if it gets too late (only kidding). Ray loves Renee, too, and this will give him big reason to live.

Now, earlier in that evening, Renee accidentally shot Jorge in the stomach, and prevented him from getting help, so he bled out and died. Good to see him go. She pays $60,000 to two cleaning women to dispose of the body -- a big job, literally -- and clean up the place. What did she think Frankie would think and do when Jorge and the 60 grand turn up missing?

Fortunately for Renee, Frankie earlier shot Daisy to death, right in front of Jorge. She couldn't be trusted, Frankie thought, and he was right about that. But this helps Renee, because Frankie is likely to attribute Jorge and the money vanishing as Jorge skipping town with the money because he was furious with Frankie for shooting Daisy. I'd call this some excellent writing in the plot department.

That leaves Jackie. She's had a bad evening, not knowing about any of this. Leslie didn't respond with reciprocal text after Jackie said she loved her, after Leslie texted Jackie a nice naked picture of her. Leslie made it clear that she's in the relationship for the sex, not for love, and maybe Jackie doesn't remember. In any case, she's hurt and angry, which puts her in a good position next week and after to look into what happened to her CI Daisy.

And I'll see you back here next week with a review of how at least a little of that turns out.

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Published on November 14, 2021 16:13

Podcast Review of Dexter: New Blood 1.2

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 210, in which I review Dexter: New Blood 1.2 on Showtime.

Written blog post review of Dexter: New Blood 1.2

Written review of episodes in all eight seasons of Dexter (the original series):

Reviews of Dexter Season 8 Premiere: Mercury in Retrograde, Dexter Incandescent ... Dexter 8.2: The Gift ... Dexter 8.3: The Question and the Confession ... Dexter 8.4: The "Lab Rat" and Harry's Daughter ... Dexter 8.5: Just Like Family ... Dexter 8.6: The Protege ... Dexter 8.7: Two Different Codes? ... Dexter 8.8: "A Great Future" ... Dexter 8.9: The Psycho Son ... Dexter 8.10: Watch Out, Buenos Aires ... Dexter 8.11: "Not the Old Dexter" ... Dexter Series Finale: Solitude, Style, and a Modicum of Hope

Reviews of Dexter Season 7.1-3: Sneak Preview Review ... Dexter 7.4: The Lesson in Speltzer's Smoke ... Dexter 7.5: Terminator Isaac ... Dexter 7.6: "Breaking and Entering" ... Dexter 7.7: Shakespearean Serial Killer Story ... Dexter 7.8: Love and Its Demands ... Dexter 7.9: Two Memorable Scenes and the Ascension of Isaac ... Dexter 7.11: The "Accident" ... Dexter Season 7 Finale: The Surviving Triangle

Reviews of Dexter Season 6 Sneak Preview Review ... Dexter 6.4: Two Numbers and Two Killers Equals? ... Dexter 6.5 and 6.6: Decisive Sam ... Dexter 6.7: The State of Nebraska ... Dexter 6.8: Is Gellar Really Real? .... Dexter 6.9: And Gellar Is ... ... Dexter's Take on Videogames in 6.10 ...Dexter and Debra: Dexter 6.11 ... Dexter Season 6 Finale: Through the Eyes of a Different Love

Reviews of Dexter Season Five Sneak Preview Review ... Dexter 5.4: Dexter's Conscience ...Dexter 5.8 and Lumen ... Dexter 5.9: He's Getting Healthier ... Dexter 5.10: Monsters -Worse and Better ... Dexter 5.11: Sneak Preview with Spoilers ... Dexter Season 5 Finale: Behind the Curtain

Reviews of Dexter Season 4: Sneak Preview Review ... The Family Man on Dexter 4.5 ...Dexter on the Couch in 4.6 ... Dexter 4.7: 'He Can't Kill Bambi' ... Dexter 4.8: Great Mistakes ...4.9: Trinity's Surprising Daughter ... 4.10: More than Trinity ... 4.11: The "Soulless, Anti-Family Schmuck" ... 4.12: Revenges and Recapitulations

Reviews of Season 3: Season's Happy Endings? ... Double Surprise ... Psychotic Law vs. Sociopath Science ... The Bright, Elusive Butterfly of Dexter ... The True Nature of Miguel ...Si Se Puede on Dexter ... and Dexter 3: Sneak Preview Review

Reviews of Season 2: Dexter's Back: A Preview and Dexter Meets Heroes and 6. Dexter and De-Lila-h and 7. Best Line About Dexter - from Lila and 8. How Will Dexter Get Out of This? and The Plot Gets Tighter and Sharper and Dex, Doakes, and Harry and Deb's Belief Saves Dex and All's ... Well

Season 1: First Place to Dexter

Coming Tuesday, 23 Nov 2021 -- a conversation with Cora Buhlert, Joel McKinnon, and me about the first season of Foundation. If you're not familiar with their work, here's where you can get to know them:

Cora Buhlert's reviews of the first season of Foundation ... Joel McKinnon's Seldon Crisis podcast ... Joel's What I Like about the Show on Reddit

Check out this episode!

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Published on November 14, 2021 13:36

Dexter: New Blood 1.2: Dark Tendencies

Well, Dexter: New Blood is soaring off to a powerful, punch-in-the gut flight, with a second episode that was even better than the first. Among the highlights:

Harrison tells Dexter than Hannah died of cancer three years ago, and he found a letter Dexter wrote to Hannah in which he worried that Harrison might have inherited Dexter's "dark tendencies". I'd bet money right now that he has. The real question is how far has Harrison acted on them? Has he killed anyone? Probably -- fair to good chance that he has. A wild thought even occurred to me that Harrison for some reason killed Hannah. But it's still too soon to know that. What is clear is that there is a lot to more Harrison than meets the eye, and that even Dexter so far has realized. Jack Alcott, by the way, is already putting in an excellent performance as Dexter's son.Dexter's repartee remains (from the original series) in top form. When Angela says to him, "we need to talk," after learning Dexter has a son, Dexter's inner voice remarks to himself, "'We need to talk' — words you never want to hear from your doctor or your girlfriend." True, that.As he usually was able to do in Miami, Dexter's doing a good job of staying a scant but significant step ahead of being discovered. In this episode, it's covering the blood trail. Next week it'll be keeping the posse from discovering the remains of Matt's body, which resides right "beneath their feet". Dexter's opponents are usually lame, but not so lame as to not put two and two together, if they discover Matt's body buried right in front of Dexter's house.In a case at this point unrelated to Matt's killing, someone's keeping a young woman hostage in a room, observing her sleeping, and that kind of pervert thing. This probably is the same guy who killed Iris. We don't yet know his identity, but this looks like precisely the kind of predator that triggers Dexter wanting to put him and the world out of his misery. Best guess at this point is that it's Matt's father, but it's still too early to tell.So that's pretty good -- no, outrightly excellent -- for a second dealing of the re-started series. And I'll be back with reviews of the rest.