A look at new and returning shows on TV tonight:
Bones, Where Have I Been All Your Life?
Wednesday’s season premiere was my first episode of Bones and I have to say: me likey! Going by the commercials for the show I thought Bones = J.A.C.P (Just Another Crime Procedural). Well it’s anything but that.
Early Premieres on Hulu.com
Hulu.com, an online TV co-venture between NBC and News Corp. (which owns FOX) will offer four fall premieres a full week before the shows air on broadcast television. This according to a report by Broadcasting and cable. The four shows are as follows:
TV Take: Virgin Comics Folds
In this brave new world of multi-platform storytelling news in one media industry has an increasing impact on other industries. Case in point: Virgin Comics. News hit this week that the Richard Branson-backed co-venture with Indian comic publishing house Gotham Entertainment is no more. They have shuttered the windows of their New York office and laid off staff. What does this mean for television? Well, perhaps you remember…
Shows that ‘Coulda been a Contender’ for Emmy
Wow, so the 2008 Emmy noms are out and you know what? I don’t watch most of those shows. I have these uncharacteristic moments of synchronicity with popular culture (like blogging or owning an iPod) but for the most part, I am completely out of the loop.
Speaking of “out of the loop,” the vaunted Academy took the step this year of announcing top 10 Emmy contenders in two categories so we could all know exactly who did not make the cut. Um, ouch. It’s kinda like finding out you had the 11th highest score in the Miss America pageant, y’know? So here are the shows currently wearing the title of Miss Close-But-No-Cigar:
The Closer: Notes on Season 4
Season 4 of The Closer is off to a good start. Last week’s premiere brought back season 1 villain Bill Croelick. Croelick is an arsonist-slash-serial killer who was released from prison when it was discovered that he was framed for the one murder for which he had be convicted. (The police and the DA were never able to make a solid case against him for any other murders.) In episode “Controlled Burn” Croelick ingratiated himself into the investigation of, what else? A case of arson-slash-murder.
The writing is what we’ve come you expect from The Closer, sharp, witty, and tight. Kyra Sedgwick is really at home in the character of Chief Brenda Lee Johnson and Sedgwick is still as engaging as she was when the show debuted in June of 2005.
The overall storytelling, however, was a little disappointing. I found the story completely predictable and had the firefighter pegged as the killer from his first scene. But what I really bothered me was the underutilization of Bill Croelick. Why stretch back to the first season to find the-one-that-got-away and then not bring any resolution to his storyline. Hopefully it’s an error that will be corrected later this season. Otherwise someone just decided to give Jason O’Mara some screen time in advance of Life on Mars this fall. (O’Mara plays the lead on ABC’s beleaguered British remake about a time traveling detective.)
All told, The Closer is still the same show I fell in love with in 2005, which is this season’s biggest strength and biggest weakness. There isn’t a feeling that the characters or the stories have really evolved. Not to mention, Brenda’s squad is supposed to investigate “high profile” cases, ones that receive a lot of media attention. Yet each case is pretty much solved in a bubble with little or no outside pressure from the media.
A reporter did play a role in the story in “Controlled Burn” and it looks like tonight’s episode promises more in that vein. But the one thing the show is missing is the constant media presence that has only been alluded to up until this point.
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