Homicide Episode Guide: Kaddish

Written by Linda McGibney; story by Julie Martin, James Yoshimura, and Ron Goldstein

Directed by Jean de Segonzac

In one of those odd coincidence that sometimes befall television, a week before this episode originally aired, The X-Files also broadcast an episode titled ‘Kaddish’, which as we learn in this episode is a term for a Jewish prayer made to mourn the loss of someone else. Both episodes dealt with the rituals of Judaism n relationship to a killing but the X-files episode was more interested in the crime. Homicide  cares about the crime, of course, but they are far more interested in the personal details--- this time choosing the underused John Munch.

Munch is using the glibbest and most quick-witted detectives but in this episode he goes through a wrenching personal journey back to his childhood. The victim of the murder is Helen Rosenthal, Munch’s unrequited high school love and investigating the crime he finds himself revisiting his early years, as well as a lot of former classmates and how time has treated all of them. The answer is, not very well. Helen married her high school boyfriend, the quarterback of the football team,  and they had two children,  but rather than forming the perfect couple problems came up. It turns up Mr. Perfect developed a rather serious drinking problem and one day was in accident that killed their son. Helen cut him off cold after that. Later, Helen began to see another classmate, the school bully who ragged on Munch regularly. His life isn’t much better, as he got discharged from the army for an assault, and has a pretty lousy life. He asked Helen to marry him but she turned him down cold.

Ironically, of all the people from high school, Munch seems to have emerged the least damaged—though considering what his personal life has been like, he’s had a lot more problems then he’ll admit.  Munch finds himself revisiting another part of his past--- his religion. We have never seen John acknowledge his faith (probably because he foreswore it a long time ago) but he finds himself picking it up yet again as he witnesses Helen’s daughter go through the process of burying her mother.

Richard Belzer gives arguably his deepest and most layered performance on Homicide  as we find him traversing the territory of past and religion that we have so often seen explored by Andre Braugher (We’ll get to him in a moment) Almost surprisingly, we see that he is more than up to the task as he finds that the girl he cared for so deeply in high school has been treated so cruelly by fate. But the case isn’t just about God, it is about love. The deep, wrenching agonizing feeling that we only feel when we are growing up. He cared very deeply for Helen and watching Belzer try to connect spirituality with the cold, hard facts of murder is painful for him and us. For once, he doesn’t have to go through the experience alone --- Mike Kellerman partners with him and tries to help talk Munch through some of the pain. There’s a sort of chemistry there, and next season the writers would build on it by partnering the two detectives together.

The murder is solved in typical Homicide fashion as well. The killer is not the troubled ex-husband or the spurned boyfriend but rather a complete stranger, a repeat sex offender. Munch is so angered by this he demands to know why the killer murdered Helen but he gets no answer. Whatever peace he hopes for will not come from the solution of the crime.

Frank’s having a bad week too.  We first see him in an intense interrogation with a suspect only to find out minutes later that the killer was a different man. We have never seen Frank so egregiously wrong before and he is shaken  up by this.  Then, in a rare moment of openness, he invites Tim over to his house for dinner, mentioning almost casually that Mary has left him  Here we see that Frank has been so greatly scarred that he is no longer sure of his identity – he’s not a husband, Tim’s partner, or anything else he thought he was. Frank is so clearly rattled that he finds himself going back to church for the first time in three years. Nor is it any church—it is the parish of Sister Magdalena Weber who we met way back in season three.

At that time Frank was no longer sure of God and the sister told him to look for it from his wife. But now Mary is gone, Olivia is gone and there seems to be nothing left to find peace it. The sister tells him to look for it in his job which seems a bad place to look for anything resembling faith. Then the next day he gets a sign (or at least as close to it as he’s likely to find). Called in on the death of an old woman, he finds her lying peacefully in bed with a piece from Ravel playing on the radio. In the context of everything we have seen on Homicide this is a beautiful aberration. And it does mean something--- Frank will begin to partner with Tim again, though their problems won’t be resolved until the end of the year --- or at least as resolved as anything gets on this show.

 Considering all the pain that’s going on, we hardly notice that neither Gee nor Meldrick is anywhere to be found. However, the work of Belzer and Braugher is so impressive that we are prepared to overlook these minor problems. We also get a good look at Munch as a high school student, where’s he pretty much what we expected—geeky, uncoordinated, awkward around women, talks too much. (Interestingly, there’s little evidence of the radical that he would become just a few years later; the atmosphere seems to be more of the late fifties than the sixties, particularly in music.)

At one point while talking to TV Guide, Tom Fontana said that ‘finding God is an ongoing adventure’ In ‘Kaddish’ neither John or Frank find him or much solace in their faith. But they find solace and small signs that he is there in some form, and  in this world, a little is probably all you’ll get. And there is more humanity - and agony - in this single episode than any moment Belzer would get on SVU.

My score: 4.5 stars.

2017 Top Ten TV: Part 2

5. Fargo (FX)

Yes, Season 3 of Noah Hawley's incredible anthology was nowhere near as good as Seasons 1 or 2. That doesn't change the fact that it featured some of the most incredible work by any group of actors throughout 2017. From Ewan MacGregor's outstanding double act (which was criminally ignored by the Emmys) to Carrie Coon's remarkable performance as Gloria Burgle, the one person determined to find the truth, even if no one else cared, this was one of the most memorable struggles of good and evil all year long. And unlike the previous two incarnations, this was ended with the slightest possibility of a follow-up. Whenever Noah Hawley gets around to Season 4, I hope somehow we hear more of  David Thewlis as Varga.

4. Stranger Things (Netflix)

Having to decide which of Netflix series should be represented on this list is a painful ordeal, as the streaming service has so many great options, a top ten list could be formed just from then. But ever since I got involved with this sci-fi/ teenager adventure/ Easter egg to the 1980s, there's really been no question which show deserved it. This is one of the most endearing and personal journeys Netflix has sent me on, even though I never got lost in the Upside Down or played D & D. But watching this incredible cast dealing with the invasion of the netherworld into Hawkins, Indiana has been incredibly enjoyable, entertaining and fun. And so far, the second season has been just as enthralling. Throw in arguably the most incredible group of child actors ever ( Millie Bobby Brown rules!) and you have a series that truly is the kind of thing that you can watch with your kids. Just explain to them what Dragon's Lair was.

3. Big Little Lies (HBO)

Yes, I think trying to do a Season 2 is a mistake. But that's only because the incarnation we got was so extraordinary. The Great TV revival finally struck David E. Kelley as he and the great assemblage of female actress on TV this year took Lianne Moriarty best seller, and turned it into an incredible drama/satire of housewives in Monterrey, California. It's impossible to imagine this novel ever being adapted anywhere else as all of the performers seemed to have cemented its place in America. And the entire cast from Reese Witherspoon to Laura Dern created a battleground that seems even more quintessentially Californian than anything else. I don't know if it'll work for an encore. But part of me still wants to see them try.

2. American Crime (ABC)

I'm still incredibly pissed at ABC for canceling what was arguably the greatest accomplishment of network TV this decade. But that doesn't change the fact that the last season of this incredible anthology series - set in North Carolina, and dealing with the horrors of human trafficking and immigration - was arguably its best.  Showing an America that shows no justice for any of its citizens, and a world that has turned against every element of it, John Ridley and his extraordinary company of actors put together one of the most haunting stories that was ever put together anywhere. The entire cast, highlighted by the astounding Regina King as an exhausted social worker, down to Lili Taylor and Timothy Hutton as two couples with vastly different visions of the perfect life, was one of the best ever assembled. Anyone who tells you that network television can't put something together as brilliant as The Wire - well, show them one season of this, and they will owe you a whopping apology.

1. This is Us (NBC)

I know that at some point this season we will find out how Jack died. But really, I don't care that much. This is by far the most moving and funny - yes, I said funny, if there were no laughs, this series would be unbearable - family series I have seen since Parenthood went off the air. It features some of the most heartbreaking and stirring material that I've seen on any television series in a long, long time. Some may have had issues with the final three episodes before the mid-season break; I thought that it showed all of The Big Three in some of their most moving work in any show so far. Kate (Chrissy Metz) Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Randall (Sterling K. Brown)  are not always easy to like, but watching them strive through all of the obstacles facing them has always been the heart of this show.  And that's before you consider all of the bits that we get for their past (the 'Memphis' episode, where Randall went on a road trip with his dying birth father, was one of  the highpoints of the year.) This is one of the most moving family series on years, the kind that broadcast networks - and almost all other servers - almost never make any more. Watch it.

2017 Top Ten TV: Part 1

Well, 2017 wasn't as bad as last year. but it was still pretty terrible. Particularly in the entertainment industry. Unless you were living under a rock, the revelations of Harvey Weinstein's disgraceful and horrendous sexual abuses have led to a ripple effect that has been felt throughout the country. And the damage that it has done to the entertainment industry may yet take decades to for the full ramifications to be known. They have certainly done moral damage to great actors and have probably ruined the enjoyment of a lot of TV series.

But if you could get through some of the horrors, there were still a great many gems in the TV world. Some of them were realistic series that brought new visions of the world of today. Others showed visions into worlds of escapism. And some were just plain fun. As always, I haven't remotely caught up to all of the brilliant series that aired this year, so the codicil is: these are just my picks for the best series that I've seen. And even then, I intend to deliver a jury prize to honor some of the ones I've left out.

So here we go:

10. The Deuce (HBO)

David Simon's return to TV was a look back at 1971 Times Square. But as with just about every series he made, it couldn't be more relevant. For the first time, Simon and his colleagues took a look at sex and commerce - in what seemed like every permutation imaginable. He managed to utilize one of his best casts since The Wire, and managed to make what should've been a pure gimmick - James Franco playing two brothers  - work by creating two very different versions of men trying to earn a living.  Throw in some truly brilliant supporting players - particularly Maggie Gyllenhaal playing one of the most brilliant prostitutes since Deadwood  - and you have the makings of another Simon gem. It's going to be hard for the Emmys to ignore him this year.

9. The Good Place (NBC)

Forget anything you see on Westworld. The series with the biggest twist of the year came in the Season 1 finale when it was revealed that the title characters were actually in the Bad Place.  And the number of reimaginings that have taken place ever since then are on the most entertaining comedy on network TV.  Ted Danson has completely reinvented himself for the fourth time since turning 70, and the rest of the cast is just as funny in their own twisted way. It was one of the joys of last few months that this low-rated work will be back for a season 3. I can't wait to see what happens next. Who knows? Maybe the twist for the fast approaching Season 2 Finale is there is no Good Place.

8. CW Friday Night: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend/Jane the Virgin

I'm probably breaking one of my own rules by having two series share one spot on my list. But these two criminally under-recognized series have been linked for such a long time that it seems unfair not to recognize both. Both are among the most original pieces of television in any medium. Both are focused around exceptional women who are endearing despite their flaws. Both featured twists this season that were so incredibly moving (Michael dying of complications, Rebecca's last ditch suicide attempt) that you wouldn't expect either series to be capable. Both feature lead actresses that have been recognized by everyone except the Emmys. And both are so low rating even on a low rated network that its a miracle either have survived this long. I think both series have one season to go before they reach their natural end. Start watching them, so they get it. Oh, and you'll have a good time too.

7. Mr. Robot (USA)

Some people thought that the second season of this series was meandering and flawed. (I didn't.) But if you view as a recovery or just maintaining its level of brilliant, the fact remains that the third season was one of the more remarkably done ones. As Eliot and Mr. Robot spent almost the entire season warring against each other, as allegiances shifted even among the less solid ones, as the game was changed repeatedly (particularly in the finale), Sam Esmail was again demonstrated that this is the most stirring imagery of our time. And he can still do creative wonders  - witness the episode which appeared to be shot in a single, unbroken take as Ecorps home office was destroyed, and Eliot learned of two of his hugest betrayals. There are going to be award nominations in this series future again. Academy, please tell me you're seeing this too.

6. The Good Fight (CBS All Access)

I figured that this spinoff of the extraordinary Good Wife would just be an excuse to do more of the same, albeit with more sex and curses than they could do on CBS. I've never been so grateful to be proven wrong. Watching as a brilliant new group of player (hello Delroy Lindo) joined an already brilliant set of actors  playing with a new set of tribulations in a post-Trump world led to some of the most brilliant writing ever. Add to this the most incredible guest cast arguably in history, and you have a series that, when joined with Good Wife, may be one of the most incredible TV universes since Joss Whedon started merging Buffy and Angel. Oh, and for Season 2, could we please have Michael J. Fox return?

Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Review

Amy Sherman-Palladino's series have a rhythm and breakneck back and forth that very few TV writers, with the exception of Aaron Sorkin in his prime, have been able to match. Working with her husband, she created two of the most iconic females in all of TV, Lorelai and Rory Gilmore on the incredible Gilmore Girls.  One of the greatest series of the 21st century, she has never quite been able to equal it, though it should be admitted that in neither of her previous incarnations, did she get a fair shot. That, however, may be about to change.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is a major change of pace for the Palladinos, in that it is a period piece set in early 1960s New York City. Midge Maisel starts life as the complete opposite of every woman in a Palladino series - she's happily married, she has two children, and in addition to her husband, Joel, having a successful job, in their spare time, he works as a stand-up comic in Greenwich Village. Very quickly, though, the bottom falls out. Joel leaves her for his secretary, Penny Pan, and her parents Abe and Rose give absolutely no support -  Abe (Tony Shalhoub, who hasn't been this good in years) tells her she should have tried harder, and Rose (Marin Hinkle, equally good) goes to her gypsy friend to find a cure for this impending divorce. You wouldn't think that things  could get worse from her, but they do, as her father-in-law (Kevin Pollak) tries to control his son's relationship, and then  when it becomes clear the marriage is doomed, takes their upper West Side apartment from them.

This is a scenario that Lorelai no doubt endured, but this being the 1960s, Midge has even fewer options. So she finds herself getting hammer, and going to the same nightclub her husband did, and delivering a far more blistering and hysterical routine than Joel ever did. (Of course, the fact that he 'borrowed' his best material from Bob Newhart didn't help.) She is spotting by the talent manager, an obvious lesbian, Susie (Alex Borstein) who tells her that she may have some of the greatest potential she's seen in awhile.  She has to avoid getting arrested at the end of each of her routines, but then I've only seen two episodes so far.

A Sherman-Palladino series is, inevitably, only as good as its lead actress. For Gilmore Girls, she got the terrific Lauren Graham. For the criminally undervalued Bunheads, she got the legendary Sutton Foster. And for this show, the title role is being played by Rachel Brosnahan. At first glance, Brosnahan would seem an unlikely fit for this creator - her main work has been in drama, notably House of Cards and Manhattan. But considering that most of her material revolves around delivering hysterical monologues, Brosnahan more than demonstrates that she is up to the challenge. She's always been a great talent before; Mrs. Maisel demonstrates that she can definitely carry a show, particularly considering how heavy the talent is for this series.

At this point, I should probably mention that this is an Amazon series, so not only are the Palladinos able to turn out fewer scripts than they have to, they can use all the foul language that the WB never let them (and that we never quite got to hear on Mad Men, which this series does echo at times.) The series has already gotten heavy award  consideration from both the Golden Globes and the Broadcast Critics, with nominations for both the series and Brosnahan. It may be too early to say that this will be the first real shot this talent has for an Emmy (did I mention how badly they were jilted for the entire run of Gilmore Girls?), but its clear that this has some of the potential to be one of the best shows on any platform.  Let's hope that the Emmys consider this like they did Transparent and not Mozart in the Jungle.

My score: 4.5 stars.

Yeah, It was Big But Should It Get An Encore?

I will start this review with the biggest disclaimer all year: I loved Big Little Lies. From beginning to end, it was a towering achievement. All of the performances were excellent. The writing was incredible - in fact, having read Moriarty's novel, I can see with considerable certainty that the miniseries was much better.  It more than deserved the Emmys it got, and I fully expect it to reap a similar number of awards from the Golden Globes and Critic's Choice Award. From the moment it ended, the only question was where on my top 10 list it would be, not if it would be there.

However, even considering all of that, I must speak with some moderation about what I heard. The series was such a big success for HBO that even before the Emmy nominations came out, people wanted a second season. I figured, given the demands on all of the cast and crew, it would be unlikely. But now, it seems like there's going to be a second season for the show.

Let's start with the biggest and by far, the most obvious reason why this shouldn't happen. The series had an end. This wasn't a series like True Detective or The Night Of, where you could see them to doing a variation of fewer seasons. We found out who was killed. We know who killed him. There's no second story. And the original book didn't leave much room for a second season, either. Moriarty, like with many of her other works, has made no effort to write a sequel. So, how can they honestly do a second season with, I presume the same characters. And frankly, given how disastrous the second season of True Detective was, one would think that the HBO executives would know better than to try to have lightning strike twice. (Then again, they don't always seem to learn from their mistakes: a third season of True Detective is coming in 2018.)

Now, I know, arguments in the tabloids to the contrary, the entire cast wanted to do a second project the second that the filming on Big Little Lies had ended. And really, if you've got Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, and Laura Dern wanting to work together on just about anything, well, you let them do that. The big question is, why do another season of this project? Why not find another similarly veined work, and get Jean-Marc Valee and David E. Kelley to work together on?  Because I can't see any scenario where a second season of this series would work. There's nowhere to take the characters, no real connection to make. Now, there were some character based ideas that could be used, but the fact is, I can see this all too easily turning into Desperate Housewives of Monterey. Would I watch that? Probably. But I have a feeling it would turn very quickly into a trainwreck, and all too easily lose the spark and energy that made Big Little Lies so perfect.

And I can't really see the other alternative. Should we turn into an anthology series, like American Crime or the various works of Ryan Murphy? Frankly, I'm not sure that would work much better. Because the other part of what made Big Little Lies work so well were the characters. Madeline, Celeste and Jane were three of the most strongly and originally drawn female characters of all 2017, and that's something, considering that they were all drawn from a novel at first. As incredible talents as all three actresses are (and Dern and Kravitz for that matter), I can't see any scenario where even a master talent such as Kelley could create a similar brilliant vision.

Now, don't get me wrong. If they make a second season of Big Little Lies, with the same cast (though I can only assume without Alexander Skarsgaard) I will tune into eagerly. Given the high level of everybody involved, it would still probably be worth watching. But I don't think for a second that it could match up to the highs of the original. And for anybody who will complain when it doesn't, I'm just going to say right now: this is what you asked for.

Homicide Episode Guide: Valentine's Day

Written by Tom Fontana

Directed by Clark Johnson

All television series go through a certain amount of accelerated pace in order for the dramatic effect of events to take place in the allotting time. Homicide  did this occasionally (most notably  in the recoveries of Bolander and Howard from their shooting in season 3) but for the most part they allowed events to occur in a realistic fashion. Which is why the events in ’Valentine’s Day’ are so surprising as they call for an acceleration so rapid in two separate storylines that one might expect you’re watching NYPD Blue.

First there is the apparent suicide of Nick Bolanetera, a grad student in a local college. Munch seems more than willing to let the case go down as it appeared but Brodie, surprisingly, seems convinced that there is more to this then meets the eye. He talks to some of the dead man’s friends and learns that his roommate Alan Schack had issues with him beyond who used up the hot water. Schack is a nasty piece of work--- in addition to being unpleasant to Brodie and the detectives, he is the local coke dealer and he brags about playing Russian roulette with the dead man. When Brodie starts sniffing around, Schack apparently gets so pissed he beats the videographer with a segment of pipe sending him to the ER. However, he comes up with a bit of detective work so neat that he goes through a miraculous recovery.

 Using videotape and sound wizardry, Brodie shoots a tape that supposedly reveals that Schack was in the apartment at the time of the suicide—an act which rattles Schack enough to confess. This is so neatly done that Brodie, who was heavily bandaged at the hospital, seems perfectly fine when he shows up to tape Schack’s confession. We are so busy gaping at this particular miracle that we don’t question whether evidence of this nature would even be admissible in a normal investigation.  But what apparently irks Brodie the most is that even after doing all this nice work no one bothers to thank him. (Never mind that Munch says thank you about as often as he has a solid romantic relationship.) Brodie has always been a little too much of an outsider for the bluntness of the homicide unit. Perhaps this is the case that convinces him he’s never going to get the respect of his peers and convinces him to move to Hollywood  at the beginning of next season.

An even more impressive time compression occurs in the second case being investigated, a series of bombings that kill a factory foreman and a prominent Baltimore defense attorney. We learn that the two men were connected through the murder trial of the man who killed Korean grocerer Tommo Roh. Justice moves swiftly but this is a bit too fast even for television

 If we believe the calendar less than a month has passed since Roh’s murder which wasn’t solved by the time ‘Diener’ aired. So, in less than three weeks, a suspect was found, indicted, tried and acquitted. We have seen the courts move fast before (witness last seasons ‘Justice’) but there just doesn’t seem to have been enough speed for this case to have moved this quickly.

It’s a shame that there appears to have been a time warp in these investigations because there’s some good stuff on display. We get to see Melissa Leo do a bit more than she usually gets to work with as she interrogates Schack. We also get to see some good work from Michelle Forbes  and  Max Perlich on stuff that isn’t strictly speaking case related—for example Cox is still reeling from the death of her father nearly three months ago. We also get a very creepy performance from Neil Patrick Harris as Alan Schack, even though he bears more than a passing resemblance to Elijah Wood’s character in ‘The True Test’. And  more than that we see how Luther Mahoney continues to destroy lives even when he isn’t involved.  The bomber turns out to be Roh’s son, angry at his father’s killer getting off. However, instead of going after the men responsible—the shooter and Mahoney, he goes after the people in the system that failed him. Had he gone after Mahoney right away instead of saving him for last, his vengeance might have been more understandable and acceptable. (Conjecture is pointless, but one wonders how the next season would have proceeded if Ben Roh had killed Mahoney)

But the most critical thing going on surrounds Frank Pembleton, even though he is not working on either of the cases. Apparently giving in to his wife’s concerns, he agrees to see a marriage counselor. Once there, however, he is incredibly hostile to the therapist’s questions about their sex life and more surprisingly, almost angry at Mary for having problems now. Mary claims that Frank has been detached from her and Olivia since even before the stroke as well as claiming that Frank’s accelerating his recovery for his job’s sake more than his family’s—a claim which probably is true. Frank is aware that he is walking on thin ice with Mary but he apparently doesn’t see the danger until he makes one last blunder. After reluctantly agreeing to have Olivia baptized (he is still hostile to the church and God) he then proceeds to miss the ceremony because he was working a case. This is the final straw and Mary leaves Baltimore for her parents, taking Olivia with him. In a rather shocking indictment Mary claims that Frank cares more about dead strangers than his own family, and even though Frank denies it, we can almost believe it. The pain on Braugher’s face when he hears this from his wife is so apparent that the viewers heart aches. Frank, who has gotten back so much, has now suffered a far harsher loss than anything he has before. And this one, like the stroke, will take a lot to recover from. Not until Frank acknowledges that he is a husband and father first, and a detective second will reconciliation be possible.

There’s not a  lot of love going on during ‘Valentine’s Day’, is there?  In addition to the separation of the Pembletons, Cox and Kellerman are still dealing with a rocky romance, and Meldrick’s marriage, though supposedly improving, will take a huge downturn soon. (This is the last episode we see Barbara Lewis, though they will not divorce until the beginning of Season Seven). The time lapses of the episode hurt the overall realism of the show and the actually cases are not as interesting as they usually are. The insights into Frank and Juliana are good, but not as deep as usual. So the overall impression one gets off the episode is just average television and not quite as good as the standard Homicide.

My score: 3.5 stars.

Homicide Episode Guide: Wu's On First

Written by David Simon and Anya Epstein; story by James Yoshimura and Julie Martin

Directed by Tim McCann

If we needed any more proof that Frank Pembleton was back to his old self, we get a very clear illustration of it in the teaser of ‘Wu’s On First?’. Frank is in the middle of leading the investigation into the murder of a Calvert County cop and the new crime beat reporter Elizabeth Wu starts asking leading questions about the dead policeman and the crime scene. Frank (who’s probably been pissed at the media since Annabella Wilgis manipulated them to her benefit in season 3) treats her like he would a parasite even though, like him, she is just doing her job.

Unlike most of the other media Wu has a very aggressive attitude and approach to that of the Homicide detectives she reports on. Indeed, her job is very similar to that of the detectives --- interviewing witnesses, checking their stories, using whatever tricks she can to stay ahead of her rivals (as we see in a memorable bit involving her and a TV reporter), struggling with bosses who care more for image than reality, all while trying to get to the truth of the incident. In many ways Wu is very similar to Frank, which explains why he is so hostile to her and why Giardello is so admiring of her efforts.

Unfortunately for Wu, she is as capable to be used by people as anyone else. Her initial story is that of a good cop becoming another victim of the drug wars; it turns out that the cop got shot because he was buying drugs. Her next story involves a source who claims that the killer acted in self-defense. Unfortunately, the source turns out to be the killer. Adding to her humiliation Colonel Barnfather is pissed for being, well, a good reporter so he publicly embarrasses her at a minor press conference. As a result of these manipulations, her editor throws her off the police beat even though nothing that’s gone wrong is her fault. (interestingly, one of the other reporters is played by Tom McCarthy, who would have a similar role a decade later in the final season of The Wire, playing a fabulist of a reporter. What's interesting is that in this story, Wu is an honest journalist, and the editors at the Sun are still looking the other way.)

Joan Chen provides energy and spunk in her work as Wu. There are a lot of   potentially interesting elements about her character and her job that give us insight into a very different angle on the Baltimore homicide. NBC announced that she would become a recurring character but Chen never appeared again on the series. Its rather a shame, because Wu was a much more interesting character with a much clearer detail into the media then we got from Brodie, to name the most obvious example.

But Elizabeth Wu isn’t the only person in this episode who is having a bad day. Mike Kellerman has spent the last couple of days on vacation trying to recover from the enormous tension and depression he’s had over the last few weeks. Suddenly, his family pays him a visit, in the form of his older brothers Drew and Greg.  Mike has never mentioned his brothers to his partner or  anyone else and we quickly find out why.

 Drew and Greg are incredible lowlifes, convicted of nearly a dozen felonies between them. No one in the family has heard from them in three years and the only reason they have resurfaced now is because they are trouble. Drew owes a large sum of money to a bookie and in order to pay off the debts Greg has come up with the idea of stealing Babe Ruth’s uniform from another bookie, planning to pay him off with the sales of that theft. Now the two brothers are on the run from both bookies and show absolutely no compunction about letting Mike get in as deep as them.

We get an enormous amount of insight into Mike from his relationship with Greg and Drew. Mike is the ‘good’ brother of the family and the other two have always resented them for that. We learn very quickly that both brothers have no real moral center at all, with no signs of remorse or guilt about bringing their brother in on this impossible scheme. But they have enormous power over him, even now. When Drew and Greg say that they want to see a dead body, Mike takes them to the morgue where they make even bigger asses of themselves, if possible. They express perfunctory concern when Mike tells them his life sucks but they clearly don’t want to hear the details. They feel (and quite rightly as we see they visit their parents) that the family has basically disowned them and that Mike will always do what they ask of him because that’s who HE is.

Eric Stoltz and Tate Donovan are two well-versed character actors who were at the time of this episode just beginning to work in television. They have a clear affinity with Reed Diamond ever since the three actors were cast in the film Memphis Belle  in 1990.There is a very clear sign of a bond between all three characters, even though Mike seems flustered and irritated by their behavior. (This was in part intentional; Stoltz and Donovan improvised a lot of their dialogue to keep Diamond off-balance). We get a lot of insight into Mike especially when both brothers reveal Mike’s desire since childhood to be a cop as well as his determination to be a white hat for nearly as long. We also see how Mike loses some of his morality when he’s around his brothers.

‘Wu’s on First?’ is a well written character driven episode, whose main drawback is that most of the characters don’t have much to directly do with Homicide. What we gathering is from observation of other people’s actions. Gee’s admiration toward Wu’s aggressiveness, Pembleton’s disdain of her and Bayliss’ flitting between these two extremes based on what he reads in the paper. We see Lewis’ concern for his partners well-being when he learns of Drew and Greg’s criminal records and Dr. Cox’s alarm and anger at them for showing up at her morgue.

In a sense this episode is taking at a look at the police from a completely different point of view, like it did in ‘Heart of a Saturday Night’ and ‘Blood Wedding’. The overall effect, however, is one of amusement rather than grief. It’s a good enough episode and it shows some very good work from the three guest stars but after it’s finished your glad that this isn’t something the writers do very often.

My score; 4 stars.

Stay Golden, Hollywood Foreign Press (And They Do)

Even in the midst of the biggest elephant in the room, there's still something pleasing about how the Golden Globes always seems to have the finger on the pulse of television better than the Emmys do (or, given the last few years, did)  Of course, given all the scandal surrounding Hollywood, the Foreign Press Association did a good job staying away from controversy (except for one case which I'll get to momentarily)

Here is my reaction to this years nominations in TV (I'll get to movies in a future article):

BEST DRAMA

It would've been odd if The Handmaid's Tale had been ignored, given the Emmys love for it. The Crown and Stranger Things deserved their nominations, as does This is Us. I'm starting to get a little annoyed at how Game of Thrones is always taking up a spot here, particularly with series like The Deuce or Better Call Saul being shut out.

BEST ACTOR, DRAMA

Sterling Brown more than deserves to be here. Ditto Bob Odenkirk. Jason Bateman is a good choice, considering that Ozark was basically ignored until now. But if you're going to honor Freddie Highmore, acknowledge him for his brilliant swan song in Bates Motel, not The Good Doctor. (Yes, I saw this coming, but still.) And will someone please explain the fascination with Liev Schreiber? It's getting insulting.

BEST ACTRESS, DRAMA

Maggie Gyllenhaal is a very pleasant surprise and could easily pull out an upset win over the equally deserving Elisabeth Moss. Claire Foy does an honor to The Crown, especially considering this will be her last year of eligibility. Catriona Balfe, well, she's got her fans among Outlander devotees (they were at Broadcast Critics, too) But I still think Katherine Langford doesn't hold a candle to Tatiana Maslany or Keri Russell. You had your chance guys.

BEST COMEDY

black-ish is a masterpiece, no question. Ditto Master of None.  SMILF is an entertaining and popular series, and I'm glad its in the ranks. I now want to see Marvelous Mrs. Maisel more than ever. Will & Grace? I know, it was popular with the Globes in its first incarnation, but this is ridiculous. At least they didn't nominate Veep.

BEST ACTOR, COMEDY

Anthony Anderson is perfect. Ditto Aziz Ansari. I'm beginning to respect William H. Macy's work on Shameless more and more with each coming season. Kevin Bacon isn't a bad choice. But Eric McCormack? Oh well. Could be worse. Could be Jim Parsons.

BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY

Issa Rae deserved to be the one to repeat. Rachel Brosnahan and Alison Brie have more than earned their shot at a trophy, even before their latest brilliant work, and Frankie Shaw is nearly as great as Issa Rae and Rachel Bloom at writing roles to humiliate themselves.

Pamela Adlon is going to be the one tricky award of the night. It's not that  I don't think she or her series isn't brilliant. I do. But its also produced and co-written by Louie C.K. , and he's in a major shadow right now. One wonders why the Globes even allowed her a hint at the award this year. It's going to be the big controversy of the night.

BEST TV MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES

For once, all mini-series. Big Little Lies, Feud: Bette & Joan, and Fargo were among the best series of last season. Top of the Lake deserved to be considered. The Sinner seems to be gaining strength for next season. Still, this bodes ill for Twin Peaks.

BEST ACTOR, TV MOVIE or LIMITED SERIES

Yes! They recognized Kyle MacLachlan! I'm nearly as overjoyed to see him recognized as I am Ewan McGregor. They're my favorites. Robert De Niro isn't a shock. Neither is Geoffrey Rush, frankly. But Jude Law for The Young Pope, a series basically shut out by every major awards group? That's why the Globes are different

BEST ACTRESS, TV MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES.

No real complaints. They recognized Susan Sarandon here, at least. I feel sympathy for Jessica Biel. To be going up against four Oscar winners? Then  again, I'd feel better if it were Carrie Coon or Felicity Huffman instead. Still, no real complaints.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Can't really complain about this bunch either. An argument could be made for any one of the five to be the winner. I might prefer David Thewlis or David Harbour over the others, but really no bad choices here.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Hell, they remembered to recognize Shailene Woodley this time. I'd have prefered if they could have found room for Millie Bobby Brown or Regina King to be in the list, but just like supporting actor, no bad choices.

Honestly, this is the best collection of Golden Globe nominees I've seen in nearly five years. It'll be very interesting to see how the Hollywood Foreign Press decides to choose.

Stay tuned for my predictions.

Homicide Episode Guide: Diener

Written by Christopher Kyle; story by Tom Fontana and Julie Martin

Directed by Kyle Secor

 When Homicide  began four years ago, Frank Pembleton was the lone wolf on the squad, preferring to work alone. This aspect of his personality was curved when Bayliss began to work with him in the pilot. Now that Tim has decided that he doesn’t want to be partners with him anymore, Frank is back to his old ways. When Meldrick Lewis shows up to back him up in the teaser of ‘Diener’, he is pissed. Part of this is no doubt based on the last case they partnered on (Season 3’s ‘Law and Disorder, which we flash back to a couple of times during the show) but part of this is no doubt due to his single-minded workaholic nature that was present even when he worked with Bayliss.

It is perhaps because of this that Frank tells his wife that for the first time since his stroke he feels like his old self again. In one sense this is true—Frank is no longer stumbling over words or has a faulty memory. Unfortunately for Frank, his return to normality also means that part of his nature has resurfaced at home. Mary, who has been a pillar of strength for her husband through his long recovery and beyond, is finally reaching the limits of her patience. She now asks to see a marriage counselor but Frank blindly ignores her complaints.  He gets a certain amount of support from Meldrick on this (though considering his marital difficulties Frank would perhaps do well to talk to anybody else) but the problems are so visible that Mary comes down to work to talk with Tim. Mary knows that being  a detective is Frank’s life but she doesn’t know if being the wife of a detective is what she wants to be anymore. When Tim subsequently holds out an olive branch to Frank, however, Pembleton rejects it.  This old blindness and arrogance will end up costing Frank very dearly in a matter of weeks.

 The psychology of Frank is always interesting but it is noticeable because this episode doesn’t have a great deal more to offer. The case that is the center of ‘Diener’ --- the murder of a socialite--- is a relatively limp one though it does show a certain amount of sparks to see Frank and Meldrick crossing swords again on who to suspect. Interestingly the situation is somewhat reversed from ‘Law and Disorder’ where Frank suspected someone from an urban setting for a murder while Meldrick suspected someone from a more upscale setting. This time Lewis suspects the lower-stratum suspect while Frank suspects the nearest and dearest--- the socialite’s brother. However, the wrinkle this time comes not from the policework but from a procedural problem when the victims diamond ring disappears from the body. This item could implicate the killer or provide with a defense. However, it turns out that the ring was stolen by someone in the M.E’s office.

While no doubt things like this happen occasionally on the job, one can’t escape the feeling that this time it happened to once again bring Dr. Cox into the story. As we find out, the thief turns out to be someone that she has recently hired—the diener from the episode’s title. (A diener is an individual who starts and finishes an autopsy procedure) In one sense, this is real Homicide— the thief is exactly who we suspect it is. However, it feels more like an effort to have Juliana feel the same sense of betrayal that is often felt by other detectives on the show--- something similar to Kellerman’s recent travails with the FBI. The whole feeling is one of forcedness that just doesn’t work dramatically.

Speaking of Kellerman, we only briefly see the detective when he tells Meldrick that he is going to see a therapist in regard to his recent dark night of the soul. He is trying to get past these impulses and appears to succeed--- at least the topic doesn’t come up again this season. (Then again, Mike will have a whole new set of problems to deal with soon enough)

Overall, this episode is a disappointment as a directorial debut for Secor, though none of the problems with the episode are his fault. The good moments from the episode occur mainly between Braugher and  Clark Johnson, along with a fine job by Ami Brabson as Mary. The case that is at the center of the show seems less important than it does most of the time, and while this isn’t necessarily a handicap, this time it doesn’t lead to great fireworks of any kind. Even the musical montages seem second class.

Ultimately, ‘Diener’ isn’t  a bad episode--- it’s just not a very good one. With a mediocre mystery and somewhat forced character revelation the episode is doubly hampered. The one thing that does linger is the problems Frank is having domestically and which he is right now ignoring.  But, like on all Homicide’s, the problems don’t go away after the next case.

My score: 2.5 stars.

Critics Choice Nominations, Part 3: Limited Series

Best Limited Series

Fargo, Big Little Lies, and Feud: Bette & Joan were among the best productions of this past year. Its the other three nominees, I have real problems with. I can see the logic of The Long Road Home, it received excellent reviews. Godless was well received as well. But American Vandal? Seriously, American Vandal? It wasn't even the best series on Netflix last year. They couldn't have meant to nominate American Crime by mistake? And where in the world is Showtime? Twin Peaks was completely shut out? Hell, Top of the Lake would be a better choice

Best Actor, TV Movie or Limited Series

This is a decidedly mixed bag.  Ewan McGregor should be the heavy favorite of this bunch. Robert De Niro was among the main contenders last year. Jeff Daniels and Jack O'Connell for Godless, there's a certain logic there. I can even see some of the reassoning behind Bill Pullman for The Sinner..

But Evan Peters for American Horror Story: Cult? Even the most devoted fans of the series thought this was  a weak season. And Jimmy Tatro for American Vandal? They couldn't have nominated Timothy Hutton or Benedict Cumberbatch or Kyle Macalahan, all of whom were light years beyond this. Oh, well. .

Best Actress, TV Movies or Limited Series

Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon more than deserve to be here. So does Carrie Coon for Fargo. So does Jessica Lange. But where's her co-lead Susan Sarandon? Or Felicity Huffman? I can understand some of the logic behind Jessica Biel's nomination for The Sinner, even if it s an odd choice, but Alana Boden for I Am Elizabeth Smart? I don't understand why this otherwise fine organization feels fit to honor the pedestrian, cookie cutter Lifetime movies. It just doesn't add up.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, TV MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES

This is much better. Alexander Skarsgard more than earned his place here. So did David Thewlis for Fargo. So have Stanley Tucci and Alfred Molina for their fine work on Feud. And I'm thrilled to see Benito Martinez get an overdue nomination for his fine work on American Crime. It's a little odd to see Johnny Flynn nominated for Genius when Geoffrey Rush was ignored, but I'm willing to let it go.

Best Supporting Actress, TV Movie or Limited Series

The first category I have no real complaints about. Davis, Hoffman, Dern, Pfeiffer, and King more than earned their spot at the table, and I'm glad to see the critics make up for the Emmys snub by nominating Mary Elizabeth Winstead for her superb work on Fargo. It would've been nice to have a spot for Shailene Woodley, but you can't have everything.

Stay tuned to this blog for my opinions on the Golden Globes nominations, coming next week.

Critics Choice Nominations Reaction, Part 2: Comedies

Now, on to the comedies.

Best Comedy

Big Bang Theory still has resonance, and I guess Modern Family does, too. black-ish is still remarkable. I now realize that I have to see GLOW,  and as if I didn't have enough of a reason to see Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, this is a big boost.

What the hell is Patriot, and why did it stand in the way of so many other great comedies. Like Master of None or The Good Place, or Silicon Valley, or..

Best Actor, Comedy

Aziz Ansari continues to be Master of television. Anthony Anderson is remarkable in black-ish. I'm delighted to see double-dealing Ted Danson get nominated for The Good Place. Thomas Middleditch did some great work on Silicon Valley, and I'm always impressed by Randall Park on Fresh off the boat.

Hank Azaria? Seriously?  I know the field for Best Actor is slim, but wouldn't have been right to honor Matt LeBlanc?

Best Actress, Comedy

They had the courage to have a category without Julia-Louis Dreyfus. Bravo.

Kristen Bell, thank the lord. Constance Wu continues to delight on Fresh off the Boat. Elle Kemper has earned her spot. I always want to see Sutton Foster nominated, and I'm glad to see some actress get nominated for Amy Sherman-Palladino series, even if its Rachel Brosnahan and not Lauren Graham. (Though I've admired Brosnahan's work since House of Cards, so its a win.

The need to see to GLOW is growing. Still, where's Tracee Ellis Ross?

Best Supporting Actor, Comedy

Ed O'Neill has earned his spot. Ditto Tituss Burgess. I'm a little surprised that Kumail Nanjani was nominated over T.J. Miller, but he does fine work. Walton Goggins is good on Vice Principals, and, like Margo Martindale, he's a favorite of the Critics Choice. Marc Maron has more than earned it, given critical response.

Sean Hayes worries me. It's a little retro for the Broadcast Critics (and frankly, makes me fear the Golden Globe nominations less than a week away?

Best Supporting Actress, Comedy

Mayim Bialik just doesn't get the love she should from the Emmy. Maybe another Best Supporting Actress prize is in the offing. Jenifer Lewis does fine work as the grandmother on black-ish. Betty Gilpin has always been good on any project she works, going back to Nurse Jackie. Ditto Alex Borstein. (Where were you, Broadcast Critics, when Gilmore Girls was on the air. Rita Moreno, legendary, even in to her ninth decade.

I'm not certain who Alessandra Mastronardi was on Master of None, so I'll withhold commentary.

Critics Choice Nominations Reaction: Part 1, Drama

As I have mentioned on more than one occasion, I love awards shows. And one of my favorite remains the Critics Choice awards, the platform for the Broadcast Critics picks. Their picks for film awards continue to get more and more intriguing with each passing year, particularly considering that they have room for Best Action Movies, along with Comedy and Drama. But what is more pertinent to this blog has been, ever since 2011, their fascinating picks for television awards. Before the Emmys began opening their doors to more deserving series, they made deep inroads, picking superb series like The Americans, Mr. Robot, Master of None, and Orange is the New Black . And every year, they continue to recognize series that, more often then not, get lost in the shuffle in the years of peak TV.

And as the audience for awards gets bigger, so the platforms for the Critics Choice.  When they began giving awards for TV, they aired on satellite network, Reelz. Now, when they air January 11, they will appear on the CW. Granted, this is due mainly to the awards for movies, but that doesn't change the fact that they have moved up in the world.

So, here is my evaluation of the 2017 Critics Choice Nominations. As always, I'll start with the dramas.

Best Drama

The Handmaid's Tale and This is Us have earned their spots, given how well they did at the Emmys last year, and I'm incline to agree about Stranger Things.  I haven't seen The Crown yet (I'm a little amazed its eligible considering it started streaming  this week) but still, its a good show. Game of Thrones, well, its always been a good candidate, despite my personal feeling towards it.

American Gods appears to be the wild card, even though its early reviews bordered on the extraordinary. I would've expected The Leftovers or The Americans, two of this groups stalwarts to prevail here. But a pick like this is far from out of character for Critics Choice, particular considering how well regarded it was.

Best Actor, Drama

Interesting selection. Sterling K. Brown more than deserves to be here. Ditto Bob Odenkirk. I'm glad that they nominated Freddie Highmore for the right series (it wouldn't shock me if the Golden Globes nominated him, but for Good Doctor, rather than Bates Motel. And I'm overjoyed that Paul Giamatti, whose work on Billions has been superb, finally got some award recognition.

Ian McShane isn't a bad choice, at least by association, and I'm glad to see him back in awards competition. But will someone explain to me the fascination with Liev Schreiber? Matthew Rhys or James Franco would've been far better choices.

Best Actress, Drama

Another interesting group.  Claire Foy deserves to be here, as does by extension, Elisabeth Moss. Tatiana Maslany's final season of Orphan Black was magnificent, and given that she triumphed here twice before getting her Emmy, I think she's the favorite here. I'm delighted to see Christine Baranski back for The Good Fight,  and Robin Wright, despite the controversy associated with House of Cards, should be here.

I'm still not certain what to do about Catriona Balfe, but I am more in favor of her being nominated than Viola Davis or Taraj P. Henson. I really thought Carrie Coon would be here for The Leftovers, but she didn't get ignored, as you'll see below.

Best Supporting Actor, Drama

This is where things truly get fascinating. Michael McKean more than earned his spot with his work on Better Call Saul. Ditto David Harbour for Stranger Things. I'm over the moon that Delroy Lindo was recognized for The Good Fight. And I'm glad to see Asia Kate Dillon grab a nomination for their superb work on Billions. (Although, given what we know about them, will they accept the award if they win?)

Bobby Cannavale is a bizarre choice for Mr. Robot, he did superb work, no question, but couldn't they have honored Christian Slater instead? And I'm not as upset that Peter Dinklage is here, by now he's earned his place at the table. Still, couldn't they've found room for Ron Cephas Jones?

Best Supporting Actress, Drama

Another eclectic group. Would be odd if Ann Dowd wasn't here after her win at the Emmys. Christy Metz more than earned her spot. And I'm thrilled Cush Jumbo was nominated for The Good Fight.

It gets a little harder to read after this. Emilia Clarke, I can understand. But I would be shocked if even critics saw Amazon's Sneaky Pete. Still, Margo Martindale has a fan base with this organization. And I'm always glad to see Gillian Anderson nominated for, well, just about anything. Still, nothing for Millie Bobby Brown?

Homicide Episode Guide: Have A Conscience

Usually on Homicide, a certain amount of time would pass between each episode. Occasionally in the first season, and of course in the multi-part stories that the show would do every so often, episodes would take place a few hours apart. But for the most part, there was a passage of about a week between episodes. This is why it is highly unusual that ‘Have a Conscience’ takes place the day after ‘Betrayal’.  In one sense it works because a lot of the pain and anger that hung over most of the detectives is still very fresh.

                The most obvious case is between Bayliss and Pembleton. After revealing an agonizing secret Tim no longer feels comfortable partnering with Frank or even talking with him. Frank is clearly unsettled by this because he is constantly trying to get his partner to work with him again on an old case. Bayliss, however, rebuffs these attempts and by the end of the episode Frank is just plain pissed at Tim. For the next few episodes, Pembleton will be working cases completely on his own. This is symbolic of his return to normality—or at least as close as he get to it these days. Unfortunately, this isolation will begin to have ripples effects in his personal life very soon.

                However, it quickly becomes clear that even though Kellerman has been cleared by the grand jury and is back in the rotation again, his life can not return back to normal. We see this pretty clearly when Captain Gaffney comes up to Mike and asks him point blank how much money he took from the Rolands.  This question (and his subsequent smile after Kellerman knocks over a file cabinet in frustration) represents Gaffney at his most contemptible (though it turns out he is capable of sinking lower). This, however, is only the first example of how  people have begun to view him differently.

He also takes very personally his first case—the death of a Korean grocery store owner who has apparently been executed by one of Luther Mahoney’s drug pushers. The grocer is repeatedly referred to as ‘an honorable man’—and the more Mike looks at his death, the more  angry he gets. When Mike finally gets a chance to interrogate Mahoney--- the first crack he’s has at him in six months--- he flies off the handle at the cool contempt that Mahoney seems to hold him and the victim. This may be the incident that crystallizes Kellerman’s hatred of Luther--- and possibly helps set in motion the events that will follow in a few months when Mike and Mahoney have their final confrontation.

All of this is very well done and written. Unfortunately, the episode then takes a decided down turn when Kellerman gets off duty and goes back to his boat. Meldrick, who has witnessed most of Mike’s behavior and is understandably concerned, comes on his boat to find Mike cleaning his refrigerator—with his gun not more than a foot away from him. Mike seems very fixated --- and then falls into a rage. All of his frustrations over the past few months come bubbling out, and he starts sounding more and more frantic—suicidal, almost. Lewis, who is understandably freaked by what he thinks is happening to his partner, tries to talk him down from his anger and sadness.

This is very intense stuff--- for the first five minutes. But the longer and longer the dialogue progressed, the more detached from it the viewer becomes. We remember that this is just a television show and that the writers aren’t going to kill off Reed Diamond’s character (not until the season is over, anyway). The entire set piece on Mike’s boat takes more than eighteen minutes and by the end of it you think that the writers just ran out of things to say a few minutes before.

Clearly the scene is supposed to be reminiscent of the classic ‘Three Men and Adena’ which, like this, was basically a long sequence of people talking about something very painful. Unfortunately, the scene is nowhere near as sure-footed or dramatic. It is even more upsetting because this episode comes from the pen of James Yoshimura, who is usually so brilliant at expressing pure anguish. Here it just becomes excruciating and repetitive. One can’t help but think Yoshimura was saying ‘This will crack the Emmy nominations’ when he wrote this script. (Didn’t work)

The episode have some good ramification--- Meldrick and Mike emerge from the incident closer together unlike Frank and Tim who have a wedge between them now. Unfortunately by the time the season ends, other events--- indirectly related to what has happened in this episode--- will end up driving the two detectives almost completely apart.

The ultimate effect of ‘Have a Conscience’ is somewhat schizophrenic. There is some very good work done by Reed Diamond and Clark Johnson but they are hampered by the script in the end. Erik Todd Dellums does a fine job at making Mahoney seems loathsome as usual and Jade Wu is memorable as the Korean grocery store owners wife but the rest of the guest cast is not particularly memorable. There is potential for greatness in this episode but it ultimately ends up falling pretty far from it.

My score: 3.25 stars.

Better Late Than Never:Stranger Things 2 Review

One of the most incredible accomplishments last year, on any platform, was Netflix's Stranger Things. Set in Indiana in 1983, the story dealt with a group of four junior high students and efforts to deal with the disappearance of Will Byers (Noah Schapp) after an epic D & D battle. The story dealt  with one of the great suspense and thriller genres, combined with some of the most brilliant acting in all of 2016. Even in the year of peak TV, it was by far the most worshipped discovery of that season, winning awards from the Screen Actors Guild and MTV. The only thing that really seemed that could possibly go wrong was, well, what happens to many TV series when they have a breakout first season. They can only suffer in comparison to themselves. Having the seen the first couple of episodes of Stranger Things 2, I can say with relative certainty that the Duffer Brothers have not gone astray.

Its been nearly a year, since Will returned from the Upside Down, but no one in Hawkins is even close to being the same. For starters, Will is still experiencing episodes, which seem to have him feeling stuck 'between two worlds'.  This understandably panics Joyce (Winona Ryder, still astonishing) who is trying her best to raise Will. Unfortunately, in doing so, she seems to be making deals with the devil. The biggest one is the one with the doctors who ran the Upside Down (now led by Paul Reiser - yes, Paul Reiser), who say they want to treat him, but who we've seen are far from willing to abandon the work they were doing before. Sheriff Harper (David Harbour, continuing his fine work) tries to be an anchor for Joyce, but there are complications. For one, Joyce has finally started dating, a tech nerd named Bob (Sean Astin, and the '80s Easter Eggs just keep on coming). For another, there are signs that nothing has returned to normal, now being manifested in what appears to be a dry rot through all the pumpkin patches in Hawkins. And then, of course, there's the fact that he is taking care of Eggo loving, psychic wonderkind Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown).

If the adults are going through their own post-traumatic stress, so are the kids. The one who seems to be suffering the most is, understandably, Mike, who has never really recovered from Eleven's disappearance at the climax of last season. He has refused to accept any of the cover story that the government is putting up, and is still sending out radio signals for her every night. Lucas and Dustin seem to be a little better on the surface, but they have a certain level of fascination with an arcade acing, skateboard riding bad girl named Max, and we suspect bad things can come from this. As for Mike's sister and Will's brother, they are still undergoing their own shock trying to coverup the death of Barb last season, which no one else, including her own parents, know about.

I have not even begun the dent the surface of all the questions that there still are to be asked just in the first two episodes.  Who is Max's dick of a brother, and why did they come to Hawkins in the first place? What is the creature that Will sees in his episodes? What tie does this have to the opening sequence in Pittsburgh that we saw in the teaser of Episode 1? And what the hell did Dustin find in the trash can in the last second of episode two? I want to find out the mysteries of Stranger Things 2, but they're only a fraction of why I love the series.  First, there's the way it gets every single nuance of being a child growing up in the 1980s was. It isn't just all the Reagan/Bush placards or the fact that the Russians are considered the villains or the fact that the four wonderful kids decide to dress up as the Ghostbusters for Halloween. (Or that Eleven channel chases past Susan Lucci) It's the fact that it gets that ever child of that age wanted to rush down to an arcade and play Dragon's Lair, and curse the joystick when it screwed you over - as it always did. Its the fact that it gets that its always difficult to be the new kid or the freak in any school, even when you haven't been the victim of an alien dimension. Its that the Duffer brothers understand love. Not just the teenage love, which is always confusing, but the kind of bizarre, purer love that hits just before puberty.

Now, I grant you, I haven't seen the later episodes of Stranger Things 2, and I admit that from a purely critical standpoint, there are bound to be some disappointing things as the series progress. But as far as I'm concerned, this is a near perfect show, and I'm glad it was renewed for Season 3. Watch it. And if you have a kid of a certain age, watch it with them. There's very little to offend them, and a lot for them to rejoice in.

My score: 5 stars.

Homicide Episode Guide: Betrayal

Written by Gay Welch; story by Tom Fontana

Directed by Clark Johnson

                This episode finds two detectives in the show at a crossroad in their lives. For one of them, it is a professional problem; for the other, it starts out seeming professional but ends up being far more personal.

                After three months of buildup, the time has come for Mike Kellerman to testify before the grand jury regarding the allegation that he took bribes from the Rolands while he was in arson. We have known this was an ordeal for Kellerman but it is only now that we understand the magnitude of the problem. If Mike testifies that he didn’t know about the bribery going on in his unit, he will be charged with perjury. If he testifies that he did know, he will be brought up on charges of failing to report graft. More importantly, if he survives that he will be ruined in the eyes of the other cops in the department. He is therefore faced with one option: taking the Fifth Amendment, an act which will have its own repercussions.

                After all the work that the writers have done at setting up this dilemma, they then sort of take an easy way out when he learns that one of the other detectives under indictment names Kellerman. Realizing that he has no other options, he tells the FBI investigator that he is will give her all the evidence that she needs for an indictment. The investigator is so impressed by Kellerman zeal and fire that when the time comes to question Mike, she stops short of asking him the hard ones. Afterwards, when a stunned Kellerman asks why she let him go she tells him that she was impressed by his loyalty and dedication, and anyway she has enough evidence for indictments.

                Not only is this difficult to believe as real it seems kind of disappointing that after everything that happens all we get is this. But as we see at a celebration at the Waterfront, Mike is now convinced that no matter what the grand jury says or what his colleagues say, they still think he’s dirty. He has gone through the system at one end and came out the other, and he is harder, bitter and more cynical for it. This will have immediate ramifications in the next few episodes. The more lasting consequences will not become clear until the season is almost over and Kellerman faces another, far worse ordeal.

                We’re not as upset about how the Kellerman storyline is playing out because a far more agonizing crime is happening in the main story. Bayliss and Pembleton are called out on the murder of another young black girl--- this one, dead from what blunt trauma on top of what may have been years of abuse.

                From the beginning of this episode to the end Tim is pissed off at just about everybody--- from the social worker who was called in to investigate claims of abuse at her home and did nothing to the assistant D.A. who ends up giving the killer a light sentence. He is shouting at the dead girl’s mother, her boyfriend and at Frank. This is the same kind of anger we saw involving Adena Watson and the murder of Janelle Parsons last year. But it is clear that this case has struck a far deeper nerve then usual.

                Then again, this case is more disturbing. The mother of the dead girl reported the girl missing and claims complete ignorance of how she got the bruising and welts on her body. In an unusual reversal, Frank takes the role of sympathetic voice as a fellow parent and manages to get the truth out of the mother—that her boyfriend struck her hard enough to kill her. But the more chilling part comes when she explains to Frank why she helped dispose of the body, lied to the police and protect her boyfriend from prosecution. He’s all the family she has left, and she has to protect him even if he did murder her daughter. The ultimate shock comes when we learn why--- she is pregnant with his child. Perhaps the most unnerving sequence in this episode occurs when the mother tells Frank that this baby will be safe because it’s his. LaTanya Richardson gives one of the most unsettling performances in Homicide’s history.

                Kyle Secor gives an astonishing performance in a season where he has already done some of his finest work. That he wasn’t even nominated for an Emmy was one of the biggest robberies in the history of the awards. Yet all of his anger does not prepare us for one of the more stunning revelations in the show. He reveals to Frank that he was sexually abused by his uncle from the age of five, and that we he revealed this to his father, the man never believed him or did anything to help him. It is stunning when we learned that Secor came up with the idea recently because it explains so much about Tim Bayliss--- why he wanted to be a cop, why he goes after child murderers with such furor, why he had such a terrible relationship with his father. (In an odd synchronicity, on NYPD Blue, the equally troubled and tortured Detective Russell, played by Kim Delaney, would reveal a similar pattern of abuse in her past.)

                Even more stunning then this is Tim’s telling Frank he doesn’t want to partner with him anymore. There has been a gulf building between the two detectives since Frank returned to duty and there’s clearly more going on then just this revelation. He will stand firm to this, not partnering with Frank till the season is almost over.

                ‘Betrayal’ is a stunning episode dealing with who is telling on whom, and who protects whom. It features brilliant acting and writing as well as brilliant camera work (one of the most breathtaking shots in Homicide’s history occurs when the camera follows Giardello as he circles a beleaguered Pembleton) It holds for a long time in the memory of the characters and the viewers and the images are not happy ones.

My score: 4.5 stars.

SMILF Review: Back to that Dark, Showtime Place

At some point in Showtime's evolution as a network, it has changed from a home for original series that targeted a specific audience (Soul Food, Queer as Folk, The L Word) to dark series with an edge (Homeland, United States of Tara, The Big C) to specializing in series with a genuine sense of sketchiness to them, usually featuring in dark sex. It has moved a bit away from that direction, mainly with its dramas (Billions, The Affair) , but its comedies have a very dark edge to them. So it would be easy to look at SMILF,  which centers around Bridget (Frankie Shaw) a twenty-ish mother in Southie (Boston) as just another series in the Californication/Weeds mold.

But this is different. For one thing, Shaw is the creator/writer of this series, which is based not only on a short film she designed, but also has an autobiographical flair. She is trying to raise her toddler son, co-parenting with her baby daddy Raffi (Miguel Gomez), who has also moved on to dating a local sportscaster named Nelson (Samara Weaving). The series also goes out of its way not to demonize the other woman, which is refreshing. She is trying to support herself and her son doing small acting jobs and tutoring richer kids (as she freely admits, this involves doing most of the work for them). It's very clear that at some point Bridget saw so much more for herself - in addition to her education, she's also an excellent pick-up basketball player. But now, she lives life on the fringes, spending time working for the family of a much more affluent student (Connie Britton does good work as the mother), and actually considering working in a similar field with her friend (Raven Goodwin) who is into a very specialized form of an internet porn. And there's a certain tragic aspect to her life - almost in passing in the pilot, she mentioned that she was sexually abused by her father, and its clear that it affects her nearly as much as living in poverty does.

Now, because this is Showtime, there's a level of skeeziness to  this that seems obligatory She basically picks an old friend off the street to have sex with so she can see if she's back to normal, she has sex with a former student of her, which leads to an interrupted ejaculation shot (ewww!!) and in the middle of looking for work at a temp agency, she has what amounts to a fantasy where she considers working in something 'prostitution adjacent'. But there's a certain level of humanity to this that has been severely lacking in so many similar Showtime series. At one point, desperate to earn money, she goes on Craigslist meets with a man who seems more desperate for companionship and conversation than deviant sex. They go into a convenience store and have a long conversation about the American Dream and dashed hopes that, frankly, wouldn't have been out of place on a David Simon series. Of course, it climaxes with something much darker, and a more realized punch line, but there seemed more energy to it than I'm used to from a typical Showtime series.

SMILF is not a perfect series by any stretch of the imagination. I can definitely see ways that it could end up operating in the same wheelhouse where Shameless did for far too long. And it still hasn't found a way to balance its cast very well. (Rosie O'Donnell plays Bridget's mother, but still hasn't been given enough to make a character yet.) But there's enough good stuff there for the series to work a lot better than its title would suggest. Unfortunately, this is Showtime. A lot of series start with the perfect measure of darkness and comedy and flatten out very quickly. I hope for Frankie Shaw, and for Bridget, that this it not the case.

My score: 3.5 stars.

Homicide Episode Guide: The Documentary

Written by Eric Overmeyer; story by Tom Fontana, James Yoshimura, and Eric Overmeyer

Directed by Barbara Kopple

                It isn’t very often that a television show will make deliberate attempts to satirize itself and its atmosphere. Such attempts of mockery often fall flat or leave viewers scratching their heads. (This would change in the 21st century where series would become more and more insular, even the comedies.) Only three programs that I have watched have made this attempt.  The X-Files satirized itself several times, most memorably in the extraordinary episode ‘Jose Chung’s “From Outer Space”. Buffy The Vampire Slayer did so on a couple of occasions, perhaps having the greatest success with ‘Superstar’ and ‘The Zeppo’, two episodes that looked at the show from a completely different angle. And Homicide  does so in ‘The Documentary’, a multi-layered, interwoven episode that while presenting itself straightforward is, in many ways, one long in-joke.

                The episode centers around an unusually quiet New Year’s Eve as the detectives gather to watch a documentary made by J.H. Brodie in his spare time during the last year. While much of the documentary is pretentious (it is titled Back Page News: Life and Homicide on the Mean Streets of Baltimore), in many ways it runs like an episode of the series. It also features many elements openly mocked by the detectives that are, in realty, probably based on what network executives thought of the show. It features editing that repeats some shots, over and over that are considered mistakes. It also features the camera lingering on things over and over and the detectives frequently complain that the show doesn’t have enough action.

                On a more personal level, the detectives are also annoyed that Brodie has captured many secretive moments that they don’t want revealed--- jokes about overtime, their off-screen relationships, and their approach to the job--- all obstacles David Simon had to overcome when he wrote his book on the Homicide unit. It is clear that Gee realizes how embarrassing this could be to the squad when he tries to get the tape from Brodie. He is therefore particularly upset when Brodie reveals he has sold the documentary to PBS (ironically, one year later PBS would broadcast a documentary based on the filming of Homicide) It is here that Perlich makes an impassioned speech saying that his pursuit of the truth in the film is exactly the same as the detectives pursuit at their job, that invading their privacy serves the greater good by documenting the truth about police work.  It is his finest hour on the series.

                In the actual documentary, Brodie films a series of sequences that are among the best the show would ever do. Set in the interrogation room, it features all six detectives, describing in detail the rights of a murder suspect, how the detective gets around them, and how he manages to elicit a confession from these less than brilliant minds. Essentially, the detectives are splitting a five page passage in Simon’s book about this very subject, often line for line. One of the highlights of the book, the actors’ delivery (particularly Braugher’s, Richard Belzer’s and Melissa Leo’s) is near perfect, putting the viewer literally in the hot seat.

                Another great sequence appears when art imitates life imitating art. Kellerman and Lewis  chase after a suspect around a corner--- right into the production team of Homicide  including Barry Levinson playing himself. This is in fact a fictional adaptation of a real-life incident that occurred in October 1996, when security guards chased a thief right on to a location where the show was filming--- whereupon the suspect promptly surrendered to the fake cops! Brodie’s adds to the general surrealism when he tells Levinson how to make the show more realistic.

                Many of the montages that we see in the film feature clips from actual episodes of Homicide filmed over the past season. (The creators don’t care that much for continuity, as  not only are many of the clips Brodie uses he never filmed but in fact wasn’t even in the episode they took place in!) The main one is filmed in a music video style, practically identical to the musical sequence that we have seen on the show.

                The main case featured in Brodie’s documentary--- the murder of Llewelynn Kilduff--- is filmed very much like a typical case. The suspect  (played by Melvin Van Peebles) in the murder--- a mortician---  is on the scene when Bayliss and Pembleton arrive, he is still holding the gun, and he is more than willing to surrender himself to their custody. He does not, however, offer an explanation as to why he killed the man and while this is good enough for Frank, Tim (as always) is focused on the why. Ever persistent he pursues the cases and uncovers the lonely undertaker’s secret--- he took corpses home, dressed than up, took pictures of them, and (though this is not explicit) had sex with them. The nature of the murder is probably a subtle in-joke about how many executives and viewers considered Homicide too dark a show.

                We also see a lot about personal relationships—those Brodie caught on film (Howard with her unidentified boyfriend, Gee with two young ladies) and one he hasn’t--- Mike and Julianna Cox, who are actually trying to make a relationship out of the attraction they share.

                Brodie even manages to solve one mystery of his own--- the identity of the Lunch Bandit (first mentioned in last seasons ‘Map of the Heart’) To everyone’s surprise, the bandit is Captain Gaffney.

                Magnificently shot and well-written ‘The Documentary’ does require that the viewer know a lot about Homicide in order to get all the references. But even if you don’t this is still a very entertaining show and one of the most memorable in the series history.

My score: 5 stars.

Ranking by Fans: 5^th