Reruns on Cable
Cancelled
Not Watching Anymore
Without a Trace
Safe, 10/06/05
Thursday
John Michaels, 05/13/05
Review
Manhunt (2/24/05)
Show Ranking #20 of 25
The Bus, 09/25/03
Fall Out pt 2, 05/15/03
Fall Out pt 1, 05/08/03
Fall Out, 5/8 & 5/15/03
CBS
CBS' lineup
Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been?, 05/01/03
No Mas, 04/24/03
Victory for Humanity, 04/10/03
The Source, 04/03/03
Clare de Lune, 02/27/03
There Goes the Bride, 02/20/03
The Friendly Skies, 02/06/03
Hang On to Me, 01/30/03
Underground Railroad, 01/16/03
Maple Street, 01/09/03
Midnight Sun, 12/11/02
Holiday Meanderings Part III, Wednesday and Thursday
In Extremis, 11/21/02
Little Big Man, 11/14/02
Snatch Back, 11/07/02
Silent Partner, 10/31/02
Suspect, 10/24/02
Suspect, 10/24/02
Between the Cracks, 10/17/02
He saw, She saw, 10/10/02
Birthday Boy, 10/03/02
He Saw, She Saw, 10/10/02
Pilot, 09/26/02
Birthday Boy, 10/03/02
Pilot, 09/26/02
Thursday Nights
Whining Part IV, Wednesday and Thursday
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Without a Trace: Safe, 10/06/05
Saturday 10.08.2005
MattM || 07:01 AM
I am so done with this show. First off Viv and Martin make magical recovery and poof both are back on active duty and THEY WANT TO BRING ANOTHER AGENT IN!!!!! What the hell is this garbage? This is another fake out just like they did with Jack and him leaving earlier. Fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me. This show should be a hell of a lot better then it is and it is a good thing to put backstory in but if your going to take a character out TAKE THE FREAKING CHARACTER OUT!!! Enough already I am so done with this show.
[alice ttlg adds] LOL! Is that what happened in the second ep??? I didn't bother to record it and now I'm really glad. (October 9, 2005 06:46 PM)
2005-2006 Season, Alias, CSI, Everybody Hates Chris, Love, Inc., Reunion, Smallville, The Night Stalker, Without a Trace: Thursday
Thursday 08.11.2005
MattM || 07:18 AM
Thursday was once a strong hold for great shows. It was the must see night on TV. Now its the well lets see do we really want to subject ourselves to these shows night. The returning shows are Alias, Smallville, CSI, and Without a Trace. Alias has been swimming steadily with sharks after jumping the shark sometime around her dad not dying of radiation poison. The show, neglected by Abrams, is in desperate need of an overhaul but I know we won't get it. The biggest problem is the total lack of chemstry between Vaughn and Sydney. Since they broke up their chemstry has been more and more forced. Now he has to pretend she's having his baby. What would be great is Vaughn as the villian now that could save the show. They need desperatly to get rid of Sloan and Nadia too while they are it. Maybe have Vaughn kill her father now that would make for a great 6th season but I know this is a pipe dream and they don't have the guts to do it. Smallville is another show in serious decline. It makes me so mad at how they have screwed this show in the ground. I love Superman (although at heart I am a Batman fan) and they for the first time try to retell the Superman legend. They had a chance and they blew it. Much to often they ignore Lex but when they focus on him it usually winds up good. They turned Lana into this whiney person who most times I d like to strangle and they seem to have no idea what to do with Chloe. Although I haven't fully declared the series as jumped the shark but its definatly on the diving board and getting ready for the big jump and I fully expect it will this season. CSI will hopefully improve after that awful experiment of splitting the team up with out actually splitting the team up but what do they do about Katherine? Hello your promoted. HAHAHAHA just kidding! I don't know where they go from here but it might be intersting or in all likelyhood it will be stupid. This show has always been a tad overrated but now I don't know what they are going to do I just hope they get it righted because I do like this show. Without a Trace left us with the cliff hanger of who dies who lives. I vote Danny off the island because they just totally screwed up his character and the way they were handling it. I seriously doubt Martin is going. Vivian should definatly go away too. Still I just know how this is going to play out. They both somehow survive. Vivan comes back and the team reunites. Sam now at Martin's deathbed realizes she loves him and he has a miracle recovery. Tears fall, kleenex is needed, blah blah a wretched season follows.
Last year the effect of Lost reviving the near dead genre of sci-fi/horror shows has been stunning. This year could be the revival of sit-coms. Two strong shows on CBS as mentioned earlier and the another on UPN of all places. Chris Rock is one of the A-list comedians and a show narrated by him about his childhood I think has real promise to develop into a great sit-com. If CBS had any guts at all they would not have let this go to UPN. Although I think it is highly ironic it winds up here. After all it was Rock who called UPN the Under Paid Negros network. Of course the other new sitcom could set back sitcoms to extinction. Love Inc. aka the show that preemptively ran off Shannon Doughtery. So now they ran off a big name and they replace her with....Busy Phillips???? Ignoring that this is a huge rip off from Miss Match but to stick a no name in a lame plot sitcom? There is just no way on earth this could be good.
The new dramas start off with my other highly anticapted series in Night Stalker. I really like the concept and I have a feeling it is going to be good. Still I have my doubts about the actors in this series and their ability to handle it. Reunion is the other new series a show with the most orginal concept of telling the story of 20 different people at a reunion and how they got where they are in each episode. I just can't see how this works but maybe just maybe. Also what do they do about season 2? Another reunion? Surely they won't have the guts to do a revolving cast. Now that would be interesting.
Without a Trace: John Michaels, 05/13/05
Friday 05.13.2005
MattM || 11:04 PM
Ok what the hell was that? I knew the whole case was bizaire when the missing victim is Malone in old man gear but still...what the hell was that? Jack apparently has just gone over the deep end but gone over it a few times now. My only question though now is that it seems to me that Jack has had not one but two affairs now. With his boss and Sam. But still this definatly qualifies as the weirdest twlight zone episode ever for them. So lets see where we are now:
1) Martin and Sam are blown up
2) Vivian is dying and going to have major surgery
3) Jack is drinking himself into oblivion and headed for nervous breakdown
4) Danny is trying to get away from all this (this unit makes his family situation look sane) by becoming a lawyer when he is not busy getting drunk and running over cabby's.
Gee and to think I used to complain about them not doing enough character development. Ok NO MAS NO MAS! Now we have gone over and done so much it makes the whole place look ready for the asylum. I don't think they are going for a whole unit wide blow up but they have put themselves in a pretty fixed positions now. Vivian who they have put through hell almost has to be gone but somehow think we are headed for miracle recovery. Jack I think is sinking and will continue to sink. Sam and Martin I think wind up together before its all said and done. But that's just my opinion after this episode I don't think I could even begin to be sure about anything.
Without a Trace: Review
Sunday 04.17.2005
alice ttlg || 07:55 PM
And speaking of Without a Trace, this show has been doing steadily better, although I anticipate getting bogged down in Vivian's heart problems with a tear-jerking ending since the actress is leaving the show ("you want more for your character to do? we'll give you more, we'll give you a death scene, so there" or at least retiring) and I also anticipate that the only tears it'll jerk out of me is those of boredom at such histronics...
Without a Trace: Manhunt (2/24/05)
Thursday 03.03.2005
alice ttlg || 07:52 PM
As CSI has become a boring/yucky mess, this show has gotten steadily better. I like the relationship between Sam and Martin and this episode dealt nicely with the issues involved, her past relationship with Jack, her concerns about what people would think versus Martin's interest in not having to hide their relationship, not letting it be some sort of furtive affair.
Without a Trace: Show Ranking #20 of 25
Wednesday 10.20.2004
MattM || 03:25 AM
I am rapidly getting to the point of frustration with this show. It has its truely great moments and then falls into Law and Order boriness then hits a great moment and falls back into boriness. Its so up and down. Now that Jack's wife has coldly used him and dumped him does this mean Sam and him might hook up? You get the feeling that she is using Martin and that is going no where. And what do they do with Vivian to me they have left us in a place where she has to leave. So I guess we will get a new person on the show probably in time for May sweeps or sooner. This show could be great and they seem to have the talent to be that but consistency continues to elude them. Still its hard not to keep watching when you have moments like the end of season one. The scene of him coming home after such a wretched day and making the decision to fight for his marriage (before she suckered him) and the sight of the missing towers as he sat by his wife's bed was one of the most haunting scenes in all of TV. To put this simply this show is Richard Hidalgo formely of the Astro's. Tease you with the huge potential but in the end you have to trade it away because the potential will probably never be fulfilled. I haven't hit that point yet but if it doesn't find its stride soon I may have to quit watching out of sheer frustration.
Without a Trace: The Bus, 09/25/03
Sunday 10.05.2003
MattM || 09:25 AM
Clearly this is the best show of the 9 central hour. Yes ER has been passed. I liked the fact that Jack's marriage isn't mystically solved and that he's still struggling to piece it back together but seems to be on the right track but as usual he gets sucked back into a serious case. I also liked seeing Sam moving on from Jack and maybe starting something with Martin all the while limping from her injury and still showing some of the scars from it. The case was good and interesting and nice to see Jayne Brook the creater and master of John Doe as well as Lt Avery get a character depart from the good cop to the evil co-conspirator. Still it was more interesting to watch the characters and the fallout and recovery from last year's finale.
[Ivne adds] I just wanna know the name of the actor that played one of the brothers...the oldest..thanx! (November 10, 2003 05:16 PM)
Without a Trace: Fall Out pt 2, 05/15/03
Wednesday 05.21.2003
MattM || 09:26 AM
This was an awesome finale for a alot of reasons. I really liked the tribute to the pain of those left behind by that awful day that they did. I also liked Jack going in there in to save Sam but to me this episode was made by the ending. The haunting picture of the empty skyline and Jack going home to save his marriage because he finally realizes just how important it is. The actors pulled this off perfectly and it resonated loudly in so many areas. This series has been a bit on the uneven side but as the year wore on it got stronger and I think this could turn into a very good show that if ER continues to slide might just give it a real run for its money.
Without a Trace: Fall Out pt 1, 05/08/03
Wednesday 05.21.2003
MattM || 09:23 AM
A pretty solid episode with a weak ending. Oh god they killed Samantha!! YEAAA RIGHT. I can see Martin or Vivian bitting it but Jack, Sam, and Eric are untouchables at this point. I did like seeing the fallout of September 11th and that it is still just being felt now and that not all people are able to just keep going.
[alice ttlg adds] See, that's why I really wish they had been able to air all two hours together, then the first part would not have seemed as weak. I think if people had seen it as a whole two hours instead one hour one week and the last hour the next week, it would have been better overall. The ending was absolutely terrific, reminded me of the best 9/11 parts of Third Watch last year. The song at the end is Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley, btw. (May 21, 2003 05:52 PM)
[MattM adds] Yes I know who did it because the song was so memorable I had to go jack the ratings for it on Yahoo Launch just so I could hear it again as well other songs by him. (May 22, 2003 11:52 PM)
Without a Trace: Fall Out, 5/8 & 5/15/03
Saturday 05.17.2003
alice ttlg || 08:32 PM
Now this was a good season finale! I liked this, both parts but especially the second part, the stuff with Samantha being shot and the guy talking with Jack and Jack going home at the end, that was a really good ending to the season. Not much else to say, it was a good plot and well acted by all the regular cast (except the "Boss", something about that actress in that part is just off, it just doesn't work for me and the stuff with her detracted from the ep).
And the song at the end, now that's the way to match up the right song with the mood of the ending. Judging Amy's producers need to learn from Without a Trace.
2003-2004 Season, CSI, CSI: Miami, Cold Case, Judging Amy, The District, The Handler, Without a Trace: CBS
Wednesday 05.14.2003
MattM || 08:56 PM
Click the Spoilers Link below for my thoughts on the upcoming season for CBS:
...there be spoilers below...
Monday
Leads off with three sitcoms that I don't get, don't like, and don't find funny Yes, Dear, Still Standing, and Everybody Loves Raymond (with that contract who can blame them!! It is then followed by the new sit com Two & a Half Men staring a load of really solid actors, Charlie Sheen, John Cryer, and Blythe Danner. That being said the concept is just so mundane and been there done that about 5,000 times. Just because you have great actors does not mean I want to the 10 million reincarnation of the same show. Lastly is the disappointing CSI:Miami. I really hope it pulls itself together in its second season but its on a short leash for me. If it continues to be as bad as it was in its first season I am going to stop watching after three episodes.Tuesday
Anchoring a very stable Tuesday with two shows that are geared to the other gender at 8 and 9 are Guardian and Judging Amy and since I am the wrong gender I think both shows suck. Leading off the night is the Jag spinoff NCIS or the gay police as we used to call them back in my Navy days. This organization will no doubtly be potrayed as heroic and wonderful when in fact its ruthless and often has no trouble killing someones career with little or no proof. Still it has two strong male leads in Harmon and Weatherly so even though it is a spin off of that even more horrible show JAG I will give it at least a one watch just to check it out.Wednesday
This night starts at 8 with King of Queens which I will always remember as the show that started with an all black family then was redone with an all white family. It is followed by yet another stinker of a show by the creators of Will & Grace (like thats some sort of great pedigree). It stars Judith Light one of the better actors on TV period but even that won't save this sinking Stones (sorry couldn't help that pun). Lastly the new David Kelly show, The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire or from hereafter referred to as TBOP because I am not typing that stupid long ass title. TBOP is a clone of Picket Fences and has what is probably the one of the top casts on TV (at least on paper). Undoubtly TBOP will soar to great heights and so I will watch it but just as sure as I am of that it will undoubtly bottem out in either the second or third season.Thursday
Not a bunch to comment here since there is no new shows. CSI and Without A Trace are very good one-two punch and look forward to season two on both.Friday
This night might compete with ABC for worst night on TV. Staring with the new drama Joan of Arcadia about a teenager who sees and talks to God. And Agency got cancelled for this??????? I won't say anymore or I will throw a fit heretofore not seen since Joss Whedon walked out on the 100th Buffy celebration. It is followed by that most unrealistic show (including Fastlane) on TV, JAG. I hate that show because as bad as NCIS is the JAG core in the Navy is really amazing and the job they do is not done 1/10th the justice it deserves by this show. Lastly is The Handler. It has a great lead in Joe Pantoliano but the rest of the cast looks very shaky but still it has potential but its either going to be great or going to suck something awful.Saturday
The only network running a full slate on Saturdays and my show is no longer here. Leading off the night is Hack about a taxi cab driving cab fighter. Ok I think I would rather watch Joan of Arcadia then that. District is just about as bad as that with it is Craig Nelson who when properly reigned in is terrific but when let loose to run amock you get the things like Harry and the Hendersons.Sunday
Sunday has only one show on it and thats the new show Cold Case. I think this show could be really good if they delve in the character driven show side instead of just the standard fair of cop shows. That being said this is not what Jerry Bruckheimer produces. So I think it will be solid to good I think its just going to be another Without A Trace, CSI, CSI:Miami show but of those he has only done one really well and adding a fourth does not give me a whole lot of confidence.2003-2004 Season, CSI, CSI: Miami, Cold Case, Judging Amy, NCIS, The District, The Handler, Without a Trace: CBS' lineup
Wednesday 05.14.2003
alice ttlg || 07:30 PM
CBS put their fall lineup up today, the first network to offer some new shows that I'm actually interested in watching....
...there be spoilers below...
Sunday
First new one up is Cold Case on Sunday and it suddenly hit me where I knew that name from! There's a Canadian show by that name and the same premise (iirc), Peter Wingfield was on it for a season, I think and I watched it some, it was very Britishy tho and not very good I thought. This American version offers a not very well known cast and it's by Jerry Bruckheimer so it looks to be a sort of Without A Trace clone. This make four cop shows for Jerry Bruckheimer and Dick Wolf has four cop shows too, I'm not crazy about so many cop shows, give me some variety in themes! and even less crazy about eight cop shows from two producers, too much all the same all the time. Whatever happened to originality? Oops, I forgot that TPTB erased that word from their dictionaries. The remaining items on CBS on Sunday are 60 Minutes and movies.Monday
Here CBS is sticking to pretty much the same thing, sitcoms and CSI: Miami. There's one new sitcom but I won't bother to talk about it since it sounds atrocious. I stopped watching CSI: Miami months ago, too many bad episodes and not enough good ones, it's a very pale imitation of the original CSI.Tuesday
The Guardian and Judging Amy were renewed and still in their regular time slots, at 7pm, there's the Jag spinoff, NCIS and gah! I would have absolutely no interest in this show but I just noticed that Michael Weatherly from Dark Angel is in it! Eep! I might actually, um, er, watch an episode or two....it's a rerun for Mark Harmon, he already played a Navy criminal investigator, in the Presidio, with Sean Connery and Meg Ryan, he might not be toooooo bad, but we'll see.Wednesday
Here we have 60 Minutes II and two sitcoms, one new and also sounding atrocious and then at 9pm, we have one of the few new shows I'm looking forward to, The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire. It's got quite a cast, Randy Quaid, Mare Winningham, Elizabeth McGovern and Ann Cusack. It's produced by David Kelley, looks like he's redoing his old Picket Fences show. I'll give it a whirl, Kelley's shows are good the first year or two and I liked Picket Fences. Plus it's NOT a cop show!Thursday
No changes here, Survivor at 7 (I don't watch reality shows), then CSI and Without A Trace at 8 and 9.Friday
Here we've got a ridiculous premise in Joan of Arcadia, a teenager who sees God in different forms each week, thanks much, I think I'll pass...JAG at 8 and then The Handler, Joe Pantoliano training impossibly young and pretty looking FBI agents, obviously nothing approaching reality here.Saturday
Nothing new here, just reshuffled shows, 48 Hours, Hack and The District. (Someone please tell me why Hack is still on the air??? Taxi driver as crime fighter, sheesh.)So, not too much here, except for the one new show I'm giving a green to, Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire.
[jerry adds] TBOP: If you do not like this show then you do not deserve to watch prime time tv. You see, we wait all season for an all-star cast and script...then it gets delivered; and, you know who you are; complain about the lack of creativity and want to run a genius like D. Kelly out of town. You just remember that when all that is left in prime time is the reality show line up... now thats original. Keep this show on the network and make it mandatory that a minimum IQ of 65 is required to view it....oh wait...there goes 75% of the national tv audience out the door to watch fear factor! (October 30, 2003 12:43 AM)
[bo adds] I came upon your website to find out cbs fall lineup 2004-2005, Boy was I surprised to see what you wrote about "HACK" I hope you get to see what a great show it truly is .Why?It's a show that you can watch with your family ,a show that has great actors, great writters and a great look about it. Yes I do think they can improve with a love interest thats why a third season is needed.I do hope "HACK" comes back. (May 9, 2004 09:47 AM)
[jo adds] I missed the last episode of The Handler....can somebody fill me in? (June 2, 2004 04:01 PM)
[alice ttlg adds] I never watched it so I haven't a clue and the show was cancelled so I'm not sure it matters anyway. If you go to TVTome (http://www.tvtome.com/Handler/guide.html ), they do have info about each ep there, including the last two unaired eps. (June 5, 2004 10:37 AM)
[Annette adds] I for one am very angry they cancelled Hack and The District. Every time a decent showed is started, it is yanked off the air! Why? Why? In the midst of all these vile, graphic and horrid shows, why can't we have a splash of decent material to watch??? (December 21, 2004 09:20 AM)
Without a Trace: Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been?, 05/01/03
Saturday 05.10.2003
MattM || 10:47 AM
I think this episode was very good except for the hokey resignation thing which was so skipped over due to time shortage it just wasn't done right. I did like that finally acknowledged the affair and that it was over. I also liked seeing cases in the aftermath and that even though Jack was right in his higher calling it cost him the case. Most of all I like the politics of the FBI and the things that go on behind the scenes but somehow I don't think its entirely over just yet.
Without a Trace: No Mas, 04/24/03
Friday 05.02.2003
MattM || 11:47 PM
Pretty much could cut and paste the L&O review for here. Another real snooze fest. Nothing at all interesting about the case or character development. The only thing noteworthy is the first gun fight (i believe at least) I have seen them get in on the show (talking about one of the agents firing their gun).
Without a Trace: Victory for Humanity, 04/10/03
Tuesday 04.22.2003
MattM || 11:53 PM
This is the year of the stupid. Stupid rules. Stupid is as stupid does. Lets do a series on Forrest Gump now it would be perfect ending to stupid TV season. Bad enough to have Network execs who have intellects of door knobs going around killing good series but then we have their childern popping up on TV shows like Kim on 24 she has to have network exec blood in her. Conner on Angel another one maybe Darla sucked the blood of a network exec. Then this episode. Stupid people EVERYWHERE. And this show has taking so many steps forward. I am sorry we were supposed to feel sorry for the teacher? Good ol Chester the Molester there yeaaaaaaaaa I think he not he's total idiot. Are we supposed to feel sorry for the "girl" cause she had a rough home life and is now a manipulitive bitch? I don't. Are we supposed to feel sorry for Agent Spade (about time they made a joke of her name I had been wondering about that for awhile) as she gallantely tries to defend that girl? No she might be the stupidest of all int his episode. I have no idea what they were gunning for here but they failed miserably and all it made me want to do is bitch slap everyone of them for being stupid. I am not sure but somone needs to explain the victory for humanity part to me.
Without a Trace: The Source, 04/03/03
Monday 04.21.2003
MattM || 12:56 AM
A show that is indeed getting better and better. I really liked the case and even the personal stuff with Jack's wife being threatened and giving that withering glare to Samantha was done just right. Nice to see Bulldog from Frazier getting some work. I really thought at first they were going to go with the cheap way out but they put so many twists and turns into this that even though they lead back to the first suspect they did in a manner that was very good.
Without a Trace: Clare de Lune, 02/27/03
Thursday 03.06.2003
MattM || 09:51 AM
This was a great episode that kept the twists and turns on and went for none of the predictable angles. I think it showed many things very well but one of them was showing Danny and his own struggles with the loss of his parents as well as one family in denial of what happened to their wife/mother.
[Sarah adds] Does anyone know what song was played at the end of this episode(Clare de Lune)? (June 27, 2003 08:48 AM)
Without a Trace: There Goes the Bride, 02/20/03
Wednesday 02.26.2003
MattM || 07:38 AM
A case and nothing but the case episode that was done very well. That I think was done pretty realisitically even with the guy having a damsel in distress complex and trying to save what probably couldn't be saved. The fact that he probably knew what his father had done to her on a more subconscious level then conscious to me was probably the real key and I liked that touch.
Without a Trace: The Friendly Skies, 02/06/03
Sunday 02.16.2003
MattM || 03:04 PM
A very solid episode that actually for the first time seemed to handle the secondary characters development quite well. They seem to be moving Samantha away from the affair she had with Jack and dealing and developing her personality and it was interesting to see how she clung to hope until all hope was gone. The case itself was very interesting if only for the fact it showed that head shrinkers are just as crazy as the rest of us.
[JoeSki adds] Hello I am trying to figure out the artist and title of the song that played at the beginning and end of the episode “The Friendly Skies” of “Without a Trace”. It sounded like Dave Matthews Band but I looked on their site and didn’t have any success. Can anyone be of any help? (February 17, 2003 11:11 PM)
[MattM adds] I believe your looking for Coldplay's "In my Place". A very good new band that got a lot of play on Smallville to boost their early career. (February 18, 2003 08:07 AM)
Without a Trace: Hang On to Me, 01/30/03
Saturday 02.08.2003
MattM || 01:18 PM
Although I believe the episode was good. Did a lot of things right. Even didn't really mind the happy ending. The show was due for one. That being said I hated this episode. The reason being this. Every cop has that case. The case that you can't break. You can't solve. That case that haunts you for the rest of your life. This was that case for Jack. It was his driving force in many ways. Now thats gone. I wish they would have left it alone. Have an episode that brings flashes of it back but the case should have remained unsolved.
Without a Trace: Underground Railroad, 01/16/03
Thursday 01.30.2003
MattM || 11:17 PM
And yet again we go from bad to worse. After such a strong showing of late we come up with this garbage? Its like wow we couldn't see this coming. An episode that smacked of the Laci Peterson case it was just poorly done and over sympathized with the "underground railroad".
Without a Trace: Maple Street, 01/09/03
Wednesday 01.22.2003
MattM || 03:20 PM
This episode earns the series a light green and starting to edge towards a green. This is exactly how this show should be. Gripping case that is hard to watch and very accuratly done. The whole scene of them chasing their tales for most of the episode and suspecting the godfather only to expose his secert but not before ruining him is exactly how these cases go down. Vivian remark early on was the truth "not after we got done with it" in response to it being a perfect little town. The fact that they had the guts to kill one and save the other was done perfectly because someone like that would be parnoid enough to grab the other if they thought they were at risk but also accurate because he would have a harder time killing her because of she isn't sexually attractive to him. Just an excellent episode for this series that is coming into its own.
Without a Trace: Midnight Sun, 12/11/02
Saturday 12.28.2002
MattM || 12:41 AM
Outside of that one stupid scene with the wife railing about how he could be out there with my daughter this was an excellent episode and one of their best to date. Although I knew almost right away that the guy was witness protection the way they played it out was really well done that kept me interested and guessing until the end. I liked how it seemed he was the bad guy then he wasn't then he was then he wasn't and in the end he really wasn't.
2002-2003 Season, Birds of Prey, CSI, Dinotopia, ER, Enterprise, Fastlane, Friends, Law & Order, Presidio Med, Push, Nevada, Without a Trace: Holiday Meanderings Part III, Wednesday and Thursday
Monday 12.09.2002
alice ttlg || 10:36 PM
Wednesday
This has been the most disappointing night of the week for me, several new shows and all of them bad! Presidio Med, MDs: Presidio Med, another one that my brother and I disagreed on, MDs, pretty darn bad. Fastlane, Twilight Zone, Birds of Prey: The Fast and Furious ripoff is just that, fluff, but it's degenerated into fairly boring fluff. Twilight Zone was so uneven, every time I watched, at least half of it was bad so I gave up watching. Birds of Prey, just never could get into this one, for a variety of reasons, and the ep from last Wednesday (12/4) was bad, the familar old friend comes to town and baddie shows up at the same time and gee, duh, our superheros never connect the two until the baddie pulls off the mask to reveal the old friend, yuck. West Wing, still the best thing on Wednesdays, slightly slow start but picked up nicely and perking right along. My Wife and Kids, this was good over the summer but since the season started, it's gotten bad, using tired old gimmicks and celeb stars to make boring eps. Enterprise, I said this was missing something but it's found it this year! :) Great beginning and some terrific stuff this fall, I hope it keeps going like this all season. (I still hate the theme song tho but I'm really quick at hitting the fast forward button.) Law & Order, no improvement over last year as far as I can see, still pretty awful, badly done versions of the page 1 headlines.Thursday
Friends, Good Morning, Miami, ER: Friends is jumping the shark, GM Miami was atrocious and still is from what I saw last week. ER has been pretty good, nothing spectacular, just good decent shows every week. Family Affair: This was so awful, I couldn't stand to watch it even tho Gary Cole's in it. Dinotopia, Push, Nevada: I found Push Nevada terribly cliched, a badly done mish mash of a variety of other shows. Dinotopia, eh, so-so, not great, not terrible, but the talking dinos annoy me, special effects are a bit blurry too, I have a feeling this will drop off my radar simply because it's so bland. CSI, and still a great show, there's been a few boring eps but overall, it's still a really good show. Without a Trace: This one, well, in the beginning I complained about the two dimensional nature of the investigators but then they threw in some really awful soap opera dreck and the cases got more interesting so now I'm happiest when they leave the investigators in a two dimensional state.[MattM adds] Presidio Med is another show that you didn't give a chance and wrote off to early. (December 10, 2002 08:29 AM)
[alice ttlg adds] But I've read all your reviews of it (and Haunted) and we've talked about and it still doesn't interest me, I'm not interested in a suburban ER, the plot lines are not interesting to me. To each his or her own, just like you don't like Judging Amy and Guardian... :) (December 10, 2002 11:13 AM)
[marizon adds] csi 4th season is very boring. still a great show. but i was hoping they would ccontinue with the romance between grissom and sara. but in a little doses. coz it will be a disaster if its going to be full blown romance. csi is about crime solving. i like it that way. (May 8, 2004 07:14 AM)
Without a Trace: In Extremis, 11/21/02
Monday 12.02.2002
MattM || 09:46 AM
Clearly their bench mark episode that showed just how powerful this show could be. While other shows have warned us about our new attitudes and new laws this episode managed to capture all of it in a very clear and captivating way. Showed not only that the Muslim community has problems with trust but even more importantly why they do. After Pearl Harbor we violated the civil liberaties all Japanese Americans and German and Italian Americans as well. Sometimes subtle and sometimes overt. Yet here we stand some 60 plus years later doing the same things with Muslims. Then finally being forced in a no win situation such as with the sniper. I think they did a great job showing two agents on both sides of the fence and Jack struggling to find the middle only to fail in the end.
[declan adds] Thanks for the great review. (April 10, 2003 10:59 PM)
Without a Trace: Little Big Man, 11/14/02
Wednesday 11.27.2002
MattM || 12:55 AM
I really liked this episode on many fronts. One it showed how inadequate our foster care can be at times. Next it also showed the amazing jobs foster parents do all things considered. I think it also showed how someone can do all the right things and yet still get dragged down because of family or friends who you feel you have to be loyal to. That being said the ending was horrible. The dirty cop angle just kind of detracted from everything. Why couldn't it just be a literal drug store with no cop angle? Also what is up with Vivian and her brother? Is that something we will see more of? I also like how they pair Danny and Martin together because they are so different. This show has tremendous potential and it is working the kinks out.
Without a Trace: Snatch Back, 11/07/02
Friday 11.15.2002
MattM || 01:45 PM
Another really good case show that dealt with it very realistically. Showing not all kidnappers are family members and sexual perverts. I liked the twists and turn and all the false leads they followed until they realized that the whole kidnapping was mistaken identity. It was also to see Sam's reaction to a cheating husband versus Vivians and Jack hem and hawing over his stance on it. A good episode and a solid show but it still could use some work and it could still be better.
Without a Trace: Silent Partner, 10/31/02
Friday 11.15.2002
MattM || 07:18 AM
An interesting case that showed how someone who can do something so bad can also have a good side too. I liked how it ended where he could still be alive or he could be dead. That all being said I think they need to move forward or do something with Sam and Jack's character. Overall another solid episode in this improving series.
Without a Trace: Suspect, 10/24/02
Tuesday 10.29.2002
MattM || 07:55 AM
It is amazing what one episode can do. This episode is enough to unravel all the good they have done so far and knock this series that was on the verge of going light green all the way back to orange. There are a lot of words that come to mind when watching this episode but the biggest one is gutless. I knew when they made this show in order for it to be good to great, they would have to have a serious backbone because showing a child murdered is a hard thing for anyone to see and digest. That being said, they needed to do just that because that is what happens during stranger abductions most of the time. They more or less avoided that for awhile but they finally made a case where they should have avoided the happy ending. Instead they give this unrealistic interrogation scene that led to the happy sappy ending. This series is finally showing its true colors and it is not a pretty one.
Without a Trace: Suspect, 10/24/02
Friday 10.25.2002
alice ttlg || 06:10 PM
Anthony LaPaglia is no Vincent D'Onofrio. Just when I thought this show was getting better, it got boring and awful. It was sooooo predictable that he would ignore his boss and find the kid and even from the beginning of the episode, there was no suspense or drama to it, in the first five minutes, here's the bad guy, now we'll follow him around and bungle things up so we can have this confrontation with the boss. The scene where Malone tries to give the illegally obtained evidence back to the suspect is stupid. Of course he's not going to ask what's in it, he *knows* what's in it, it's his book, he's just denying it so you can't use it against him, duh!
Just when I had hopes of changing this show to yellow, it sucked itself back down in to the awful pit.
Without a Trace: Between the Cracks, 10/17/02
Friday 10.25.2002
MattM || 03:15 PM
This show keeps getting better and better by the week. I like how they showed Jack's character dealing with a case he couldn't solve and Charles Dutton was teriffic as the father who just can't let go. Also Sam's seeing herself in the victim I think was real nice touch. Bottom line though, was the case which was great not only in how it unfolded but also the ending. They didn't go for the sappy happy ending, they went for sad stupid ending. She had finally realized she couldn't make it there and needed to go home and start a life only to be killed by accident because she was so drunk. That being said, I think they left open the question of whether she was drugged or not too. This show to me is inching ever closer to a light green.
Without a Trace: He saw, She saw, 10/10/02
Friday 10.18.2002
MattM || 01:55 PM
I really liked this episode. The one thing that they really got right is how unreliable eye witnesses can be. It was a great case with a lot of unexpected turns and a very believable one too. Damn post office workers. I liked the obvious tension between Samantha and Jack and their fallout from their affair. Although they have not quite gotten around to fully telling us the juicy details, it is clearly there. I think this show is going to get better and better and could be one of the more pleasant suprises of the fall season after such a stumbling start.
Without a Trace: Birthday Boy, 10/03/02
Saturday 10.12.2002
MattM || 12:52 PM
A huge improvement over the blah episode they put out for the pilot. I liked the Jack and Martin rivalry that is developing, the woman-scorned character developing with Vivian. I do not think she will develop into a very nice character but at least the characters weren't quite so wooden this time around. I also really liked the case, how we start with this sweet innocent kid in his parent's eyes, then turns into something else outside of them only to keep twisting into a combination of both. A very realistic look at the complexities that are teenagers. This was one happy ending that I was ok with. Still this show remains at yellow but a few more episodes like that and it could be an olive.
Without a Trace: He Saw, She Saw, 10/10/02
Friday 10.11.2002
alice ttlg || 07:53 PM
For the first 55 minutes, this episode began to turn around my opinion about this show. The investigators were still totally without character or emotion (with extremely minor exceptions from Eric Close) but the case did finally draw me in and hold my interest more than the first two eps.
And then we hit the last five minutes where they chose to reveal something about a couple of the investigators but they chose the wrong way to go.... We get blond chick asking Lapaglia what's going on (he's been getting calls he ignored all thru the ep and said were personal) and finally, after nagging from her, he finally admits that he and his wife have separated....a couple months ago. Blond chick starts acting all pissy, but only after she finds out it was a couple months ago, that he's kept this information from her, didn't confide in her something he knew she would be interested in knowing. The implication that the writers are bludgeoning into us with a baseball bat is that Lapaglia and blond chick had an affair. Blecchhh. I REALLY don't want soap opera crap, telling us two of the investigators had an affair is NOT the same as exploring their characters, it's just sensationalistic tripe, "ooh, let's titillate viewers with images of these two in bed....", it's a sellout. And it was so overdone, they could have posted the info on a billboard on Hwy 1 and it would have been more subtle than those last five minutes.
So this shows stays orange for me, the only reason it's not red is because the case was fairly good. And if they do more of this soap opera crap, I'll be gone.
The badness of those last five minutes was even more glaring in contrast to the last five minutes of the CSI ep just before this one. Similar themes but handled far better and by people who understand the meaning of the word subtle.
[Rick adds] Good episode. Guests did great job. story had me griped to the end but you are right about that relationship CRAP!!!! Onward........ (May 6, 2003 11:40 PM)
Without a Trace: Pilot, 09/26/02
Monday 10.07.2002
MattM || 11:04 PM
This should be a good show. The plot was there. The actors were there. Yet they blew it all. Flat deadpan acting and a script that took a great plot and ruined it with its all happy and neat ending. If this is the way the series is going to go, especially with those dumb flashback scenes and little character ala Law and Order, this show is going to be a red quickly. There is a lot of potential here and maybe it will take a few episodes to find itself but this was a bad start to it.
Final Rating: Yellow for now unless it shows improvement, it will go to an eventual red.
Without a Trace: Birthday Boy, 10/03/02
Saturday 10.05.2002
alice ttlg || 06:29 PM
Did I mention that this show is boring? So far, two eps, two missing people found, zero interest. It's similar to CSI in that it's very technical, piecing all the parts together, tracing the person's steps, finding reasons why they left/got snatched/whatever, but what they left out is helping us care about the investigators or even just making them more than two dimensional emotionally flat cardboard people.
Even in CSI's pilot, in between all the technical stuff, they still showed something about the investigators, but this show is determined to be as dead as possible. The most emotion shown has come from Eric Close's character, a bit about him in the first ep, that he has family pull to get him on that squad and in this week's ep, giving the clue about the kid's motivation for running away and his slight smile when the boss told him to come along on the jet to get the kid back. But it's so minimal and this is after two eps. The rest are dry as dust, no info at all, nothing to make me care and if every case is going to end with the missing person being found alive and pretty much well, double boring.
If I wanted to just watch an investigation, I already have three Law & Order shows each week.
Without a Trace: Pilot, 09/26/02
Tuesday 10.01.2002
alice ttlg || 05:23 PM
This is pretty good, they've really captured the spirit of the original CSI show in this CSI spinoff...oh wait, wrong show, this isn't the CSI spinoff! It sure looks and feels like it tho, Anthony Lapaglia does a nice version of Grissom and it's live people instead of dead people but otherwise, it's basically CSI and it's much better than CSI: Miami.
The timing is all wrong, tho, in that it airs directly after CSI on the same channel, so it's two hours of the same thing. The cast is good, although the blond woman on the team was rather distracting since she looked quite a bit like the blond missing woman they were searching for. Eric Close stood out the most in the cast as a recent transfer due to nepotism and he's eager to prove himself and (of course) gets himself in trouble for it but it was handled well.
So it's okay and I'm taping CSI anyway, might as well tape this show too.
2002-2003 Season, CSI, Dinotopia, ER, Friends, Push, Nevada, Without a Trace: Thursday Nights
Wednesday 09.11.2002
MattM || 11:28 PM
On Thursday night 3 dramas and 3 sitcoms premiere. The sitcoms are as most are this year, nothing truly special. Family Affair, a remake of a late 60's sitcom has a solid cast but an old concept, it could work, it might not and I really do not care either way. Do Over is the half hour version of That Was Then so I will be writing about this show tomorrow as well as today. Two sitcoms back to back on WB and not one is an orginal idea, what a shock. This "ultimate wish" fulfillment of going back and reliving and redoing your high school years is just like during the 80's when I swear they made about 7 or 8 movies with this same concept all in a row. This one is bad bad bad bad bad. The last sitcom is Good Morning Miami and only one thing can be said about this, a nun giving weather, NEXT. The dramas start with Dinotopia and you have to wonder who pissed off who here. Putting Dinotopia against Friends and Survivor is a death knell for this series which I have high hopes for after a solid late season three part miniseries. I hope they move this to another night like, say, Fridays at 8 where it can actually compete. Push, Nevada is going to bomb. The concept is revamp of Twin Peaks but this whole give away a million dollars thing is just trying to push the reality show concept way too far. Bad idea, worse concept, gone in 5 shows tops. Lastly is probably going to be the best show of this night: Without a Trace. A solid concept following the FBI's Missing Kids unit and a good cast, this show should thrive even against stiff competion from ER.
Of the returning shows I watch, Friends had best not marry Rachel off to Joey because, like Spuffy love, if that happens, the show is dead to me and good riddance. For the 10 MILLIONTH time, Rachel belongs with Ross, you do not spend 8 years building to that and then do a 180. When Matt LeBlanc goes public against the idea of Joey plus Rachel, you know you're doing something wrong. CSI should have a very interesting season, they have a real chance to humanize the characters, something they have lacked for a couple of seasons now. I think if they work something in about Sara Sidle's growth as a person, Grissom's impending deafness and maybe Catherine and her kids or Warrick relapsing, they can take this series to a whole new level. Finally ER, which had a very uneven year last year but this should be a whole new ballgame now. Gone are old cast members and finally Noah Wyle gets a chance to shine. I really believe this year could be one of their best and perhaps their last or next to last. I surely hope not though. I think they could make this series last another 5 to 8 years if done right.
2002-2003 Season, Birds of Prey, CSI, Dinotopia, ER, Enterprise, Fastlane, Friends, Law & Order, Presidio Med, Push, Nevada, Will & Grace, Without a Trace: Whining Part IV, Wednesday and Thursday
Friday 09.06.2002
alice ttlg || 07:44 PM
Wednesday
Presidio Med, MDs: We're big on medical shows this year (and cop/firefighter dramas). Presidio Med looks like it'll be awful show, although it has some good actors in it, Dana Delany, Blythe Danner and Oded Fehr who was marvelous in the short lived UC: Undercover last year. MDs also has some great actors, William Fichtner and John Hannah but it doesn't look much better. Fastlane, Twilight Zone, Birds of Prey: A Fast and Furious ripoff, a remake and a superhero show....my brother is excited about Birds of Prey but it just doesn't interest me. I will watch it tho, give it a chance but the storyline is beyond my familiarity with Batman (from back in the 60's and early 70's). West Wing, best thing on Wednesdays, one of the top shows, great cast, well written, nuff said. My Wife and Kids, I can't remember why I watched this show one night but I did and it was pretty good, so I started taping it during the summer, some of it has been painfully bad but overall, pretty decent and since there's not much else to watch at 7pm except... Enterprise, which I like but....it's just missing something, doesn't have the same punch that Star Trek TNG had and that theme song has got to go! Law & Order, oh yeah, another L&O that I always forget about, they seem to have lost the point of throwing in some personal touches so that we know who these detectives and lawyers are. Green has been a black hole since he came on the show. But Fred Thompson may liven up the last half hour so it might be worth watching again.Thursday
For *maybe* one season, I could sit down at 7 on Thursday and watch NBC for three hours.[Sean adds] How can you diss on fastlane? Fastlane is the best show on tv right now better than all that other garbage. (December 24, 2002 12:07 AM)
[alice ttlg adds] Well, actually what you commented on was written before the show aired and when it did start airing, I liked it fairly well, but lately, the last three or four eps have been pretty boring, they started off well but lost their edge somewhere so I quit watching. But I didn't like Fast and the Furious either, I thought that was a wretched movie. And now it's taking the time slot of one of my favorite new shows, Firefly, stupid Fox! (December 24, 2002 10:05 AM)
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