TV Bender

I just watched this latest episode of numbers and I have to say they come through again. Using the tit for tat theory they successfully got information out of a serial killer. The mental blocks and false memories did through an interesting loop in the mix, but I have to say that the mental thing larry was having after getting off the shuttle was kind of weird. I don’t know what is happening with him. I mean is he having a mental breakdown or is he just having postpartum depression from leaving space. It just seemed kind of out of place. There was also a guest appearance by Jeremy Sisko.
You may remember him from six feet under when he played the crazy brother. Well I’ll see you around.

And they say you will never use advanced mathematics
. I don’t know how accurate this show is, but this show makes math look interesting. Sometimes I am just blown away by how much the math on this show accomplishes. I have personally seen the math on this show catch numerous murderers, stop a kidnapper by predicting where he was going, and tell where a photo was taken by using only the shadow. I think that the character dynamics is this show are also top notch. The big brother cop that needs the little brother professors help to solve crimes using mathematical analysis keeps the storyline interesting by adding the family element to this crime show. Well keep your eyes open because im gonna be here steady. see ya soon.

Sorry about the two days of silence. Things have been a little crazy. But enough about me. let’s talk Numb3rs!

A plane carrying a prototype of something important that I didn’t understand crashes in the woods for no apparent reason. But that’s okay because W00T, Edgerton is back! What a pleasant surprise for us.

Charlie and Alan get a not-so-pleasant surprise when they come home to find that they’ve been robbed. Charlie rushes off to help Don on the case, but when Amita gives him a talk about how someone stole something from her and robbery is a personal, emotional experience, he goes back home and offers to use his math skillz to help the police. Aw.

Turns out the plane was crashed so that when the FAA analyzed the black box, a virus that can hide a plane from radar would get into their computers. The baddies were going to use it to smuggle drugs into the country instead of something cool, like randomly mess with the flight…tech…guys. Look, I don’t know what they’re called. I just know it’d be hilarious to play Jumbo Jet Hide-and-Seek with them.

Charlie has used his math skillz to determine that the robber lives in the L.A. area. Alan and the rest of America are not impressed. Don comes waltzing in with a box of all the stuff that was stolen from them; he activated the GPS on Alan’s laptop and it lead them right to the jerk who would dare think of breaking into that beautiful Craftsman house.

Tonight: No crime drama. BRING BACK VERONICA MARS, CW! I’m just going to sit and cry in a corner until you do…

This week, Charlie is approached by a female friend from college for help. Relax, Charlie/Amita fans, she’s dead within a minute anyway. She wanted Charlie to take her to Don because she had information on a voter fraud conspiracy. The Feds look into it, confirm her story, and spend the rest of the episode trying to save the few people involved that are still alive.

Meanwhile, it’s the triumphant return of Oswald! Yay! He’s unsure about applying to CalSci and Charlie tries to browbeat him into submission because if you don’t go to college, you fail at life. Millie gives him the brilliant idea to get Oswald involved in the voter fraud case to show him how much fun it is at CalSci. He sees the light and decides to apply.

Also? Meghan’s avoiding calls from the Director (of their FBI branch office). In the end, she declines whatever he was offering her, but is pretty much told that she’s going to accept and she’s going to like it. Thanks for that oh-so-subtle set up for Diane Farr’s maternity leave, writers.

Honestly, the best thing about this episode was the return of Oswald and the forensic accountant played by Joshua Malina. It was like a side character spectacular! Oh, and Alan trying to get Don to move back home ’cause he’s pretty much there all the time anyway. He has a point, Don; we’ve only seen your apartment once or twice. Move back home and give me some more Eppes Family Moments, dammit!

Again, this episode (a friend of mine likes to refer to them as “eppesodes”) was a repeat. And what a terrifying episode it was. Instead of “Longshot”, I’m renaming this episode “The Birth of Liz”. Perhaps the most hated woman in the Numb3rs fandom (at least on the boards I visit) besides Amita.

Why do we hate Liz? Robin. Robin and Don were perfect for each other. They had awesome chemistry. And then Liz comes along. Liz with her all-over-Don-ness and her willing-to-sleep-with-him-even-though-she-didn’t-know-that-he-and-Robin-were-broken-up-ness.

Honestly? Liz has more chemistry with Colby than she does with Don. I accidentally typed “dies” there. Subconscious thinking? Yes.

Anyway, since I remembered this episode pretty well, I flipped over to USA and one of my favorite crime comedies, Psych, about an extremely observant guy pretending to be a psychic for the police department. It’s basically the James Roday and Dule Hill Acting Silly Hour. It’s good for a laugh if Numb3rs is a repeat.

It’s the middle of the regular TV season, so I thought I’d give a brief overview of my thoughts on the shows I will be covering and their current plot lines. FYI: A brief review of each episode will be posted the day after the epiode airs with the exception of Numb3rs, which will be posted on Mondays.

Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars is the only linear drama I will be covering. All the rest are your standard procedurals. I really like how the three mysteries formula is working; it keeps the show fresh and we don’t get any filler episodes. My suspect for Mystery 2: The Return to O’Dell’s Cave is Tim the TA. Also? LAMB IS DEAD. I’M GOING TO GO CRY IN A CORNER NOW, THANKS.

Bones
Bones isn’t a great procedural - in fact, one might even call it mediocre - but it’s entertaining nonetheless. I like that they’re going somewhere with the whole Booth/Brennan romance thing and adding some non-crime-related drama to spice it up a little. Although the therapist thing has got to stop. I don’t like the therapist and I think he’s crap at his job. I will elaborate on Thursday.

Criminal Minds
I. Love. This. Show. One of the things that first got me into procedurals is my personal interest in criminal psychology; I’m really more interested in the why than the how when it comes to crime and Criminal Minds is where I get my fix. My only problem with the show is that the writers have so many characters to juggle that we often get short-changed on character development with the more minor characters like J.J. and Garcia (who is my BFF). The addiction storyline with Reid bugs just a little, mostly because he’s my TV boyfriend and I can’t stand to see him hurt, but I’m waiting until this week’s episode to pass my judgement on the storyline as a whole.

CSI
Where it all started. CSI was my first crime drama. I’ve been watching it - no lie - since I was 12. Listen closely, y’all, ’cause this is the only time I’m going to say it: this is the only CSI I will be covering. Miami and New York? Crap. I will not have their sub-par excuse for crime drama taint this blog as long as I write it. That said, I like that the Vegas writers aren’t hitting us over the head with Grissom and Sara’s relationship. They’ve been very subtle and I applaud them. Greg’s civil suit makes me a bitter, angry person. He’s another one of my TV boyfriends. I would really like the writers to give Catherine, Warrick, and Nick (THANK YOU, George Eads for getting rid of that very sad pornstache and 70s hair) something interesting to do. They really feel like they’re fading into the background.

And last but most certainly not least, Numb3rs
I hate math. I really do. And yet I cannot seem to tear myself away from the adorkable math genius Charlie Eppes and his scrumptious, FBI agent brother Don. The cases are interesting mostly because you wonder what else they can solve with math. One of these days Charlie’s going to bust out an equation to find out who ate the last cookie or something. Where Numb3rs really excells is with the balance of crime and personal moments. I look forward to the Eppes family moments, which never feel gratuitous or out-of-place.

So there you have it - the line-up for the Crime Drama TV blog. I’ll see you tomorrow with some thoughts on Veronica Mars.