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Reviews
NCIS: New Orleans (2014)
Gets better and better with each season
At first, NCIS NEW ORLEANS had trouble finding its feet. Most TV series need that first season to shake out the unnecessary and focus on what works. Because of the great cast and location, I continued to give the show a chance. And, by golly, it's gotten better and better with each season. There have been cast changes and the untimely passing of one of the producers, but the core of Scott Bakula (taking a more active role as Producer on this show), Lucas Black, CCH Pounder, Darryl "Chill" Mitchell and Rob Kerkovich keep the show consistently interesting. And, unlike the other two NCIS shows, this is filmed in The Big Easy. They got away from the touristy things pretty fast after the first season and now New Orleans is a person, unique and fascinating. And the music! Every kind of sound is heard everywhere, and Scott gets to bang away on his piano often. Now all they need is for novelist Anne Rice to make a special appearance---maybe on Halloween?
Hawaii Five-O: Over Fifty? Steal (1970)
Witty change of pace for the series
Au contraire! OVER FIFTY? STEAL is an exemplary episode of the classic Five-0. At least once a season, the program lightened the mood with an episode devised to provide fun. In this case, the great Hume Cronyn came on board to portray a man who had been ousted from his job because of his age and decided to fight back. And he did so in the nicest way, providing coffee and playing cards to the folks who happened to be there when he pulled his jobs. Using disguises and a jolly, try to catch me attitude, Cronyn's character is a joy to behold. And the cast rises to the occasion, enjoying the heck out of doing a light, caper- oriented episode for a change. Five-0 was always the kind of police procedural which could take these side roads and still provide first- class entertainment. Not every episode has to be about homicide. Sometimes it's good to just be clever fun.
Doctor Who: Midnight (2008)
No spoilers, just an observation
MIDNIGHT is quite a change of pace for the fourth series of the new DOCTOR WHO, and, once again, Russell T. Davies and company are unafraid to step into new territory. One of the hallmarks of the new series is its willingness to be inspired by specific films and television: a good first example is VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED, the WHO version of a Seventies disaster film, in particular, THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE. Using POSEIDON as a jumping off point, it became an outstanding adventure on its own terms. And now we have the WHO version of Alfred Hitchcock's LIFEBOAT: a story which takes place on one set, and places a small group of characters in an intense pressure-cooker. All the usual WHO trappings are stripped from David Tennant's Doctor, and he is reduced to being the lone voice of sanity which is roundly ignored by the rest of the cast. Even his Sonic Screwdriver is used sparingly. No spoilers, just one of the best-written and intense character pieces ever. If you haven't seen it, watch MIDNIGHT after the sun has gone down, when shadows and sounds become dangerous. It's that good.