Why Cops Must Hate the Mentalist

I enjoy The Mentalist, I really do. I understand that it's an extremely contrived show, but it's full of well-written characters and full of some nice touches that many viewers aren't used to seeing (CBI, anyone?). And, it's certainly far and away better than that totally contrived copycat on Fox, Lie to Me. Sure, it's not as slick, but neither does it rely on as much gimmickery and ultimate pointlessness.

Anyway... though I like the series, headlined by an actor I've followed since I first saw him in a bit part in L.A. Confidential (one of my favorite movies), I'm of the opinion that real cops and detectives must hate it. Ever notice how most of the procedural stuff is handled by Jane (the main character)? And he handles it in such a way that he almost scoffs at it like it's "duh" obvious. And even though the show, unlike Lie to Me, does highlight some procedural and forensic work done by real cops, it's usually as afterthought or just a way to build the other characters in the series. For the show, it works, but it still can't make real cops happy.

Other Television Musings

So, the inevitable happened: Life was canceled. Screw all you bastards who didn't tune it to save it. Ah, well... at least the finale was awesome.

The BBC hit, Primeval, is back, and boy does it suck so far. What happened to the days of shows getting better as they go on? Are even writers suffering from the impatience felt by viewers? And everyone wonders why reality TV is so prolific these days.

The upcoming season certainly has the record for lamest new show titles: The Listener, Mental, The Middle, Glee? Come on, now.

Jay Leno might wind up saving NBC in the short run, but he's going to kill network TV in the long run.

Somebody needs to convince the CW to give it up. Seriously... go away. Sell your better shows to the Big Four and just go away.

While I can't wait for The Cleveland Show to start, something tells me 90 minutes of Seth McFarlane every week is not going to work for very long. Then again, I think I'm overestimating the intelligence of TV audiences, so I'm probably wrong.

Do I really want 18 NFL games per season? Um... I love my Chargers, but no.

The next great NBC shows that aren't going to make it: Chuck and Southland. We can just throw them into the Life, Journeyman, and The Black Donnelly's pile right now.

Prison Break is finally gone. Good riddance. Although I give kudos for that ending.

Craig Ferguson is the best late night host on television.

For you Pushing Daisies fans, it's coming back for three weeks, Saturday nights on ABC.

And, in closing, for you whiny fans who seem to think ratings don't matter, who the fuck do you think ultimately pays for the shows you watch? This ain't the UK, and we ain't got the BBC. So watch the fucking commercials.

Have a nice day.

The Fall 2008 Television Season: Rants and Reviews, Part I

The new television season is in full swing and, thankfully, running strong thanks to no SAG strike. Hopefully it stays that way.

On to the shows:

Entourage - somehow, this show just keeps getting better and better. Of course, that's probably because it's a show pertaining to Hollywood itself, and the writers no doubt have an infinite number of personal experiences to draw upon. This season Vincent is struggling to clear his name following last season's Medellin debacle. It's fucking great.

Fringe - this new Fox show from J.J. Abrams started out with a bang. Quite simply, its series premiere was excellent. So excellent, in fact, that Joshua Jackson's bland self didn't even have a chance of ruining it. And then the series kept going. The second episode was horrible, and the third was only marginally better. Something better happen quick, or viewers are going to abandon this exploration of fringe science.

Heroes - talk about a boring season premiere. The only part of it worth watching was the last five minutes (the Syler twist), but now even that seems old and overdone. Watch as he becomes a mere foil, rather than the arch-villain. And did anyone else notice how the premiere completely made the first season's plot ("save the cheerleader, save the world") irrelevant?

Kitchen Nightmares - Gordon Ramsay, you rock. But the American version of your beloved BBC's Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares sucks. There's no insight into the restaurant industry... it's just another family-fighting reality show.

Primeval - this one's on BBC America, probably the best cable channel in the United States. After a great first season, a wanton second series attitude of "bigger and badder" is tearing the show apart. Hopefully they get back to the subtle nature of things. And quick.

Prison Break - this is an aberration. I despise the moments prior to my actually watching it, because for some reason I feel the show is boring. But I only feel that way when I'm not watching it. When I am watching it, I absolutely love it. They're not breaking out of another prison this season, but the government conspiracy they're trying to crack is actually one that doesn't make you roll your eyes.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - decent first season, even though it suffered from a near-immediate continuity error (a metal Terminator head coming through the time warp). The second season? So far, garbage. Apt, considering the casting of the lead singer of Garbage. She almost single-handedly ruins the show. Another crap episode and this one's off the DVR to do list.

True Blood - Hollywood seems irrationally attracted to vampires as of late, but this new HBO series provides just enough of a twist to stay interesting. Still finding its feet, I'm liking where it's heading. Certainly better than that Moonlight crap we had to suffer through last season.


Other shows on my DVR list include House, Dexter, Californication, Chuck, and Life. I haven't gotten to those yet, so those will be ranted and reviewed in part II.

Bring back JLU!