Why Ray Donovan Is Destroying Peak TV

In an essay I published earlier this year, I put forth the idea  that, for better or worse, the era of Peak TV is linked with the rise of the anithero. However, the reason that many of these series don't have huge audiences is that, for every Breaking Bad or Mad Men, there are at least three or four Chicago P.D.  or Sons of Anarchy, series with leads that could be antiheroes, but are really just despicable people who do bad things with no real goal in mind. And nowhere has this ever been more clear than with the series that seems to epitomize scum than Showtime's Ray Donovan.

There are many, many problems with this series, but to try and list them all would sound like a litany, so I'll limit my complaints by sticking to the problems with the title character.  First of all, there's his job. On more than one occasion, I have said that Olivia Pope is basically Ray Donovan with a better wardrobe. There is, however, one key element that raises her marginally above Ray. At least, in Olivia Pope's world, there is at least the facade that by covering up the crimes and misdemeanors that the powerful do, she is trying to hold on to the idea that the people need to believe that their politicians are above reproach if the system is to work. (Of course, that was before she started rigging elections and killing vice presidents, but let's set that aside for now) Ray's sole job is to make sure that the celebrities and power-brokers in Hollywood don't get sent to jail for doing the same horrible things, which even the most liberal among us can only say isn't the same thing at all. In fact, given what we have learned about the level of sexual harassment and assaults that some of the most prestigious names in Hollywood have been responsible for, this is one area where more light needs to be shed, not less.

Second, there is the issue of Ray Donovan, the character. I was going to say 'the human being', but having watched the series on and off for five years, I have yet to see any truly human aspect to him. Hell, Dexter Morgan demonstrated more character growth in his relationships that Ray ever has. He doesn't have a single friend to speak of, he barely talks any more than he has to even members of his own family, he doesn't seem to have any interest in the field he works in, and whenever any question is asked him, he'll either lie or straight deny it. Now I know that Liev Schrieber is a great actor. I've seen him do impressive work in film and on stage. But Ray Donovan barely shows any range at all, even when it comes to changing the tenor of his voice. Some people may be drawn to this minimalism, I like my characters to show at least some emotion.

And he treats his family, who are supposedly the people he is doing this all for, with an equal amount of disdain. He's always hated his father, Mickey (and the way that this series has utterly wasted Jon Voight is another crime in itself) but as utterly contemptible as some of the crimes Mick's committed, it doesn't remotely justify how little he seems to care for everybody else.  Terry, who suffers from Parkinson's, and who has been Ray's most loyal confidant, barely gets more than tolerated, and its clear Ray has been using his gym to launder money - a move with almost got him sent to prison. Bunchy, a victim of sexual abuse in his youth, has been given little freedom for his life, and its clear Ray sees him as a burden. His son has been dealing with delinquent issues, and was willing to join the marines to get away from him. He has got to great lengths to sabotage every relationship his daughter had. And his treatment of Abby (Paula Malcomson, also wasted), his wife was loathsome, as he cheated on her throughout the series, and never really listened to her pleas for help. In an interview for the series, Eddie Marsan, who plays Terry said: "They (the Donovans) can't survive without each other, and yet they're utterly toxic with each other." Most of this is Ray's fault.

And this became even clearer this season, when Abby, who had been stricken with cancer last year, began a final descent. Ray utterly refused to accept her diagnosis, wouldn't listen to her decision not to continue treatment, had an affair with his next door neighbor while she was dying,  and then, in order to get her into a clinical trial, infected a patient with meningitis, only to learn that his daughter had helped Abby kill herself. He then spent the entire fifth season half drunk (its also pretty clear that Ray is an alcoholic), pushing every member of his family away, and not accepting any responsibility for anything he'd done. I imagine the partisans of this series (whoever they are, I don't know anybody who watches this show) will say there was some kind of redemption for him, in the fact that in the end, he helped that same kid receive treatment. I would remind those people that in order to do that,  they probably destroyed the doctor's reputation, which probably endangered or killed God knows how many people, and basically had Ray end up killing somebody.      No doubt, people will say he sold his soul. There was never one there.

This is a horrible, utterly without any redeeming features series, and yet, for reasons which boggle the mind, critics and some audiences do seem to like it. Liev Schreiber has been taking Emmy nominations away from any number of deserving actors, including fellow Showtime thespians Paul Giamatti and Michael Sheen. Now, I'll admit the Best Actor category is flooded with similar characters, but at least some of them are entertaining and have more of a range. I can't imagine what people see in Ray Donovan, the series or the lead.

And now, the show has been renewed for a sixth season, where the main difference is Ray will be operating out of New York, not Los Angeles. (He had to relocate when his reputation was made public in LA.)  But he showed absolutely no sign of either changing or even acknowledging he has to change. The main difference is he'll be working primarily for Sam Winslow, a studio head who, from the moment she met Ray, has been completely able to manipulate him to do what he wants. (One of the only enjoyable things about this series was watching Susan Sarandon tear into this role like a coyote into a T-Bone.)

All that Ray Donovan has ever been able to do is gather an immense number of great actors together, and waste their talents playing contemptible and horrible people. There's something grimly fascinating about the show, I admit, but its the fascination of a slow motion train wreck. The series will probably begin filming Season Six any day now. If I run to Liev Schreiber by chance in Manhattan, I'm going to walk up to him, and punch him in the face. It'll be worth it, even if I know from this series how good a brawler he is.

Homicide Episode Guide: The True Test

Written by Noel Behn; story by Tom Fontana and Noel Behn

Directed by Alan Taylor

                The detectives at Homicide haven’t yet had to investigate the murder of a teenager so far this season, which is odd considering how many young people get murdered in Baltimore. So Lewis and Bayliss are called into investigate the stabbing of another young African-American --- only this time the body didn’t fall on the streets but in a wealthy private school. Marshall Buchanan, the victim had been accepted on a scholarship in a school that doesn’t have a lot of blacks in it. In a more upper-class environment, his parents clearly hoped he’d  be ‘safe’.  Clearly they were wrong.

                From the beginning of this case, Bayliss is pissed off at the teachers and student body at this prep school. As we learn from him, this comes from something in his childhood. His cousin Jim (who we met in Season 3’s ‘Colors’) had dreamed of getting in and when he was turned down, a vital part of him was crushed. Bayliss has never been able to forgive that slight and it nettles him. Perhaps for that reason, he goes after the main suspect with more vengeance than per usual.

                That’s not to say that the main suspect doesn’t deserve it. McPhee Brodman, a seventeen-year old upperclassman is one of the cruelest characters we have ever met on Homicide. He is an egotistical, self centered, racist punk who taunts the detectives throughout the entire show. He seems to have the ability to manipulate younger students into doing various harsh and cruel things--- including Marshall’s murder. Former child star Elijah Wood (pre Lord of the Rings) gives one of the most unnerving performances on Homicide playing a teenager with no code of ethics at all.

                He thinks he’s above the law, and he has good reason for thinking so. His mother is Judge Susan Aandahl, a semi-recurring character we first met in season 4. In many ways, her blindness to the obvious cruelty of her son is even more frightening then McPhee’s actions. She knows that he is capable of violent actions--- he firebombed a car at age seven---  but as she puts it  she’s a judge, but she’s also a mother. In a private conversation she has with Bayliss, she admits that she is afraid of her son. Yet she is determined to protect her son, no matter what. This is revealed in the climax of the episode when McPhee reveals that he had Marshall murdered because he wouldn’t carry out an assignment--- his mother’s murder. The look on Sagan Lewis’s face when she hears this is one of pure shock--- yet minutes later, she is trying to get her son’s statement suppressed. One wonders if maybe McPhee won his duel with the detectives.

                Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this case occurs when Bayliss reveals that he admires the judge for standing by her son no matter what. This is a small crack in the hide of Bayliss, which has been getting tougher and tougher as the season progresses.

                Though the main focus of the show is on Secor and Clark Johnson, the writers do not forget to look in on the other two detectives who’ve had ongoing problems. In the course of this episode, Pembleton once again takes his firearms exam. This time he manages to pass and is finally allowed back on the street, even though he admits the real test is in the box. Things seem to be looking up for Frank--- but he’s not looking closely at his life. In a scene at the start of the episode, Mary Pembleton reveals that it hasn’t been easy dealing with her husband for the last month. Looking closely at it, Mary clearly sees that there are some problems in their marriage, which will come up again sooner than Frank realizes.

                In contrast, there is little brightness in Kellerman’s life.  The three other arson detectives under indictment have all copped pleas, insinuating that Mike, the only innocent man in the bunch,  is going to be the one hung out to dry. Even his own attorney thinks that he should plea out. Mike’s life is so crappy, he invites Brodie to stay with him on his boat, despite Munch’s warnings.

                The one bright spot for Mike occurs in the first act, when for the first time, he meets Dr. Cox. The two of them strike up a dialogue and its clear, there’s something there. The byplay involving Cox and Kellerman is peculiar, considering the heavy flirting that was going on between Juliana and Bayliss in the past three episodes. One wonders why Fontana suddenly changed directions on this, as it doesn’t seem to deal with the continuity of the show. Still Diamond and Forbes do have some chemistry, and it will continue to spark.

                For all the strengths of ‘The True Test’ (especially because it was the highest rated episode of Season 5) the episode isn’t quite up to the level of some of the other episodes. The acting is very high-caliber, yet the story itself seems a little less sound--- there aren’t a lot of seventeen-year- olds like McPhee in the world of Homicide, so it doesn’t have the same resonance despite Wood’s great work. However, it ends with a rare optimistic note for one of the characters, and hints that maybe better things are on the way, especially with Braugher going back on the street. It’s been good watching him recover, now seeing him back on the job has a lot of promise.

My score: 4 stars.

Janie The Virgin Season 4 Review

Ever since the days that the CW was once the WB, the powers that be at the Emmys have constantly denied it recognition in any major category. This was galling in the days when only the major networks would get nominations; it's absolutely moronic in an era when many of the series nominated aren't even on TV any more.  And right now, the cruelest victim of them all is one of the best shows on any network, Jane the Virgin.

The telenovela satire (which it acknowledges at least twice an episode) has been growing incredibly powerfully over the last year. In one of the most heartbreaking moments in all of TV, Jane's beloved husband Michael died from complications from the shooting in the third season premiere. The series has since moved forward three years, and Jane's baby Mateo is now nearly five years old. Her family situation has been sort of in a mix the last few months. Her mother Xo has finally married her father, telenovella star Rogelio (the always hysterical Jaime Camil), but have been unable to deal with a proper marriage because Rogelio's fist wife  (Justina Machado) has shown up very pregnant with Rogelio's child, and now they are trying to deal with a really complicated situation, especially now Patty has fallen in love with Rogelio great rival Esteban.

Things have not gotten any easier with Jane's baby daddy Rafael. In the third season finale, he was thrown out of his hotel and disinherited by his sister, Luisa. He has now spent the last three episodes trying to rebuild his fortune at the expense of everything else. For starters, he torched his relationship with Jane at the beginning of the season, which has become awkward since they are living together now. Then, his relationship with his ex-wife/other baby mama Petra (Yael Gregorias) fell apart when she told him she was isn't in love with him. And now, he's trying to having a fake relationship in order to buy his hotel back, which has the advantage both the other women in his life.

As for Jane (the incredible Gina Rodriguez), she is trying very hard to remain sane and self-centered, which has not been helpful by the fact that the first man she ever was love with, Adam, a comic book artist, has come back into her life and has determined to make her happy. Which makes even more complicated because Xo and her Abuela didn't exactly love him the first time, and aren't crazy about him now.

What makes all of this so brilliant is that this series never takes itself seriously. Realizing that the title has made no sense for the last year, half the fun now comes when it shows up and is edited. Narrator Anthony Mendes remains one of the most delightful treasures in the history of television, and they still find ways to make it remarkable. (In the season premiere, for example, they introduced Adam with his own narrator, and they spent the episode sniping at each other. And the series always seems to have throw away dialogue that will drive into hysterics. For example, in last night's episode, Rogelio was raging at one of the writers: "You can't introduce a new character three-fifths of the way through the series, and expect him the audience to love him!" The narrator then cut in: "Gee. I wonder what Adam's doing."

Jane the Virgin is arguably one of the cleverest, charming, and endearing series on television, and now it has been regulated to Friday nights, considered the dead zone of broadcast TV. Two of the best series on network television are on the CW Fridays,(the other, of course, is Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) and on their best days they get less than a million viewers combined. Jane has done well at the Golden Globes and the Critic Choice , but the Emmys still refuse to give it the time of day. And since both shows probably need the awards to survive, this is particularly cruel. Both series may survive til they reach their natural ends - this is, after all, a network that has been more than willing to renew both series despite their low ratings  - but I regret this because both series are among the truly exceptional accomplishments on any form of medium. Find the time in your DVR or Hula. Watch this show.  It should be noted that there's no reason not to.

My score: 4.5 stars.

Arrow Season 6 Review

The first - and by a considerable margin, the best of Berlanti's DC based series - has always been Arrow. But as good as it has been for the last five years, I honestly spent most of last summer dreading its return. The fifth season climaxed with the villain Oliver Queen spent all of last season fighting managing to blow up the island where he had been stranded the early years of his disappearance, with basically everybody he ever loved or cared for on it. I was therefore torn between needing to know what happened and wondering who'd survive. I was therefore grateful to learn that when Season 6 premiered the explosion had been less of a 'Red Wedding' and more of a 'Moldavia Massacre'.  (Google it.) Despite that, it did seem something of a cheat that the island explosion wasn't as fatal as it had appeared.

Which doesn't mean that things haven't gotten any easier for Oliver (Stephen Amell). One of the people who passed away was the mother of a son, he didn't know he'd had until a couple of years ago. Now he's trying to be a father on top of his duties as Mayor of Star City, a job that has not gotten any easier with a photo mailed to the FBI about him as the Green Arrow. A determined Bureau agent is trying to pin him down, and Arrow puts us in an interesting position by realizing that she isn't entirely wrong. Indeed, that very pursuit has forced Oliver to go against a move by his city council to start hunting down vigilantes and putting it to a citywide vote - something that never went particularly well when it happened before. More to the point, it has forced Oliver to make the decision to stop being the Arrow and hand over to the costume to his trusted friend John Diggle (David Ramsay). What he doesn't know is that his friend injured himself severely in the attack, and is now relying on illegal pain drugs to make sure he can get out in the field. It is inevitable that this will come back to bite John in the ass; the only question is when?

Of course, involved all this are the same kind of threats from within. One of the survivors of the attack was Black Siren, aka an alternate universe version of Laurel Lance. (Katie Cassidy is brilliant in playing the darker version of the character she played so well for four years) Her very survival is a threat to the team, and one wonders how much pain it is causing to Quentin (the always fascinating Paul Blackthorne), who ended up shooting her in the final episode. Who is she working for, and will she pose a greater threat?

Arrow has always been a good series, but what makes me feel that it might be on the verge of a better season is that it actually seems on the verge of letting go of its baggage. For one thing, the flashbacks to Oliver's past, which became increasingly pointless throughout the last two seasons, are finally done, which is a real weight off the series shoulders. For another, even though we know that Oliver will inevitably be drawn back into the world he's creating, its actually refreshing to see our hero dealing with the mundane problems of running the city, trying to be a good parent, and best of all, restarting his relationship with the series breakout character Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards rules! Olicity forever! Sorry, couldn't help myself.)  One knows that eventually new villains will come to darken Star City's doorstep - that's how Berlanti works, after all. (I'm actually looking forward to the arrival of Michael Emerson and Kirk Acevedo, though I still have no idea what characters they'll be playing). But this is  a change that is refreshing and fun, especially for a series that was really dark the last two years. A lot of CW series end up running well past their expiration date. Arrow is the first series I hope in awhile that well really do that.

My score:4.25 stars.

Riverdale Season 2 Review

The Archie comic book series has been one of the harder ones to quantify over its long run. Mostly a humorous story about high school, it has dabbled in all kinds of milieus over its over seventy-five years - supernatural, romantic drama, outright parody and slice of life. Perhaps that's the reason, while every other comic book and its uncle (including more than a few spin-offs from the Archie-verse) have been made into film and TV series, the Archie series itself has remained steadfastly untouched well into this millennium. That, and perhaps the fact, that's its overall tone has been so cheerful and optimistic that it really doesn't fit into with the cynicism of this century.

Which brings us to Riverdale. One couldn't help but think, throughout Season 1, that perhaps creator Roberto Aguirre-Sanchez had overcorrected to the point of insanity.  Beginning with the murder of Cheryl Blossom's twin brother Jason, Riverdale was stuck in darkness that even Twin Peaks wouldn't recognize. From Archie Andrews having an affair with a much younger Miss Grundy, to the motorcycle gangs and seedy underbelly of the title, all relayed by the dark narration of Jughead Jones (yes, you heard that right), much of what came was so unsettling to the point even by the level of darkness that surveys so many comic book series. It seems that Riverdale has a dark history that even True Detective would flinch at.

Not content with that level of darkness, the creators seemed to have doubled down as Season 2 unfolds.  Fred Andrews (Luke Perry) was shot in a fake-robbery in what has quickly become a string of attacks. Miss Grundy met her end at the conclusion of that episode, and Midge and Moose nearly got shot to death in Lover's Lane. The killer has now announced to the press (run by Betty's mother, played icily well by Madchen Amick) that he is here to bring about vengeance for the sins of the past. And its becoming very clear that the sins are obvious in this town. Veronica Lodge's father has been released from prison, and it appears that all of the signs of menace that her mother implied throughout Season 1 are very true, as he tried to take a hold on the Riverdale real estate market, and actually seems delighted by the murders that are happening.

Of course, all of this level of darkness has been weighing on the teenagers as well. Archie (KJ Apa) has become obsessed with the possibility that the killer is after him, and has started a neighborhood patrol, which is quickly becoming more menacing. Jughead, forced to relocate to a far poorer high school in the finale, has been fighting with his father's Serpent heritage (Skeet Ullrich continues to fascinate) as he learned when he tried to go it alone. And Betty (Lili Reinhart) who has been trying to recover from the revelations of last season is struggling with both her relationship with Jughead and her gay best friend Kevin.  Throw in the drug problem that is increasing, an attack on Pop's diner, and the ever darkening world that Cheryl seems to be fading into, and Riverdale seems to be reaching for a level of murkiness that not even the latter season of Buffy did.

But for all of the darkness and grime - hell, maybe even because of it - Riverdale remains one of the most fascinating series the network has on the air. Indeed, the comparison to Buffy is well met at times, given the level of pop culture references, seedy underbelly, and very dreamy leads. I can't imagine that any of the Archie fans who have been reading the series will recognize, much less want to watch this version of the town. Yet I think that very daring it what lends the show its spark. It bares almost no resemblance to the comic book that generations grew up reading, but that very radical difference makes it, paradoxically, far more original then so many series on TV.

My score: 4 stars.

CW Retrospective: Supergirl

I am not one of those mad literalists who thinks that any adaptation needs to be absolutely wedded to its source material in order to be successful and more importantly, enjoyable. I've seen more than my share of TV adaptations of popular books and movies that have come to be far and above the material they came from. One need not look any further than Buffy or Justified to see projects that have become far more outstanding than they the work they came from.

I also share this same feeling towards comic books, mainly because, not having viewed most of the original source material, I don't care how close it has to stick to it. I realize that I am in a minority when it comes to this, but honestly I feel that, like so many other projects, comics could use a push away from their origin stories if they are to survive in the modern era.  What I care more for is entertainment, not viewing DC and Marvel as if they were the Bible.

Which brings me to Greg Berlanti, the man who has been more responsible than anyone for making the CW a success story. He has gone above and beyond in making many of the second string superheroes of the DC-verse far more appealing than some of the more recent adaptations on film. But the problem is, he sometimes gets too stuck on message than entertainment, and nowhere is that more apparent then Supergirl.

Now, let's be honest, with all the comic book adaptations out there, television was crying out for a series with a female lead. And by far, the best thing about Supergirl is the title character. Melissa Benoist does a fine job making Kara Danvers, Superman's cousin, a far more realistic person with insecurities and flaws than so many of the others. It can be fun watching the Girl of Steel fight villains twice her size, as well as try to deal with her place in the world in National City. And as long as the stories were entertaining, I honestly could give a damn about how far away the series was from its source material. I didn't care that Jimmy Olsen (Mechad Brooks) was now African-American or that Kara's sister Alex (Chyler Leigh) was now a lesbian. As long as the stories were engaging,  who cared?

The problem is that the messages behind the show got heavy-handed. Now this is nothing uncommon to Berlanti's series. The difference is on Arrow, and to an extent, The Flash, watching the characters work through all of their issues was much of the fun, and the message delivery was subtle. In Supergirl, the message is far more heavy handed and has less entertainment value as a reward. This was particular clear when it was revealed in last season's finale that the President of the United States was actually an alien. It came as a climax to many heavy handed message about xenophobia and the upper class throughout the second season, that were neither as clever or as entertaining at the writers thought.

As the third season unfolds, Supergirl has managed to lighten up on the heavy hand material. Unfortunately, its ideas for new storylines aren't particularly original either. We've got another evil billionaire, Morgan Edge. We've got Lex Luthor's sister, Lena purchasing Catco, and trying to be friends with Kara. And we've got this mysterious woman who seems to have some superpower that only her young daughter truly suspects. Intriguing ideas - except they were all done on Smallville, and its not that encouraging that Berlanti is now borrowing from another CW show. Granted, it was a hit, but one that took a long time building up to be a great series.

Supergirl is not a bad series, especially compared with what Fox and ABC offer as comic book derivations. The performances are generally better, particularly Dorian Harewood, as head of the DEO/Martian Manhunter. But its by far the weakest of the Berlanti DC series, and its not clear that its found a serious foundation. after two years.  It needs more power than its title character seems capable of providing.

My score: 2.5 stars.

Homicide Episode Guide: The Heart of Saturday Night

Written by Henry Bromell

Directed by Whit Stillman

                As I have mentioned previously, one of the reasons Homicide  was such a brilliant show was because of how it dealt with that most painful of emotions: grief. Considering how well they had handled the feeling in such brilliant episodes as ‘Every Mother’s Son’ or ‘A Doll’s Eyes’, you wouldn’t think there were any more that they could mine from this subject. ’Heart of a Saturday Night’ proves them wrong.

                Once again we see the effect of murder on the bereaved. This time, however, we see it from a different angle: the way that those left behind try to deal with their emotions.  In this case, writer Henry Bromell shows a group therapy session for the survivors of three recent murders, which all took place on the same Saturday night. In a homage to the shows old look, all of the present-day therapy sessions are filmed in harsh decolorized images, while the flashbacks to the Homicide Squad are all in full color. The bleached-out look fits the therapy session— a vital part of their lives has been drained from it, never to return.

                The survivors are four very different people--- a young accountant whose wife was killed in a carjacking, a young woman whose husband died in a bar brawl, and the very late middle-aged parents  of a wild teenager who was raped and strangled. All are dealing with their grief differently but some emotions are common to all of them. They are all angry but their anger is directed as different people. The husband’s anger is directed towards the killer who was never caught. The parents of the teenager are angry at each other--- both of them still have very divergent views of their daughter. The wife is angry at her dead husband--- he was a pretty lousy person who she was working up the courage to leave, but now will never be able to. They are also feeling an intense pain that will never truly end, and whether or not the killer was caught, or if they had people to support them, they may never be able to find peace.

                The detectives at the squad are all feeling their own kind of pain. Pembleton and Kellerman are still chained to their desks and are going through the agony pf being treated as furniture. You’d think that this link would bond them but Frank, as we all know, doesn’t bond. Mike takes some of his frustration out on Frank and says some pretty mean things, but in the end the two form a kind of fragile bond dealing with their problems.

                Lewis and Munch have their own set of problems. The carjacking case is a dud and they both know it, and they spend much of their investigation looking for the victim’s three year old who was in the car when it was taking. In a rare moment of kindness the baby is alive. But there are even worse problems ahead for them--- the bar brawl that led to the second death took place in the Waterfront.

Another man going through his own kind of agony is Lieutenant

Giardello. For reasons that are not initially clear, he assigns himself to investigation the bar brawl rather than Howard.  Through his own persistence, he manages to close the murder. When Howard asks him why, he went to such trouble, he tells her that he is still feeling guilty for killing a man when he went out on the street in last season’s ‘The Wedding’. For him this is his way of proving to himself that he is still good police. However, it is clear that even this success will never take the sting away.

                Frank is also trying to prove he’s still got it. Even though he is stuck to his desk, he helps Bayliss identify the third victim. Then, through a thorough interview with the kids who found the body, he manages to track down the man who killed her. Frank still isn’t all the way back but he’s getting there, step by step.

But without question, the most shocking revelation occurs with Dr. Cox

when she appears at the same therapy session as the other survivors.  It turns out that her father’s death was not from the result of an illness. In fact, he was the victim of a car accident when an aggressive and unidentified driver forced him off the road. Considering how long he lingered after the accident, it’s a little hard to believe that his death was a ‘murder’ but no matter what you call it, there is no doubt that Cox is still in a lot of pain. Of all the survivors, she has found the best way of dealing with her loss through her kind of detachment as an M.E. But, as we will find out soon, this detachment costs her a great deal and makes her react in ways that are not always healthy.

                Even for an episode of Homicide, this episode requires that a great deal of attention must be paid. By switching between flashbacks and current events, the viewers have to work hard to understand what is going on. It is a credit to the show that Bromell believed that this was something that the average viewer, often demeaned by other television shows, could manage to do. The directors of Homicide often have difficult tasks, and it is due  to the fine work of  Whit Stillman, director of critically acclaimed, low budget films such as Metropolitan and Barcelona that have the same kind of emotions and thoughtfulness of Homicide. The guest actors are also up to the material, particularly Rosanna Arquette and Chris Eigeman, two of the more underrated actors in Hollywood.

                ‘The Heart of a Saturday Night’ ultimately doesn’t have the same emotional impact such as ‘Bop Gun’ or ‘Every Mother’s Son’, mainly because the action follows so many different plots that the ultimate effect very slightly reduces the emotional impact. But the pain for all of the survivors is real, and it comes through the screen loud and clear. Grief does not go away, whether or not there is closure, whether or not you have someone to support you. And some scars from emotional damage never go away.

My score: 4.5 stars.