flashman181

Who remembers the famous old cliff hanger in original(and I assume best but have zero interest) Dallas – Who Shot JR? Don’t fret if you don’t because many of us who would have seen it originally now have Alzheimers. It was the talking point around many a water fountain or school tuckshop for months to come and was classic TV marketing. How they have picked it up now and run with it , not to build suspense but rather to rake in the moolah. Dexter – Hello? This guy should have been caught, boxed and buried around 4 seasons ago but the ratings said otherwise. In other cases we have good stories – Lost? – that do better than expected and are suddenly stretched beyond original concept. There are some exceptions – Breaking Bad has always had a finite life and 5 seasons is about a good number as The Wire showed but Sopranos and West Wing could go the extra distance. There are no hard fast and rules. What is a lock though is that eventually Wile E Coyote has to catch the Road Runner or everyone just gets pissed. Lets face it they need to produce one more Roadrunner cartoon where he throws that bloody bird of a cliff with an ACME ANVIL around its neck and we see blood and feathers. Ok, fine have a parental warning or better still put it on Channel 10 because no kid watches that anyway.

Now to The Mentalist. Red John is a great villain but he appears about as often as Kevin Rudd at The Lodge. That is ok to a point but how can you have an RJ heavy episode like Episode 16 Season 5 and then next week have that army nonsense on. Don’t get me started on Cho’s embarrassing salute at the end but lets just try and work out what the hell they are thinking? Nope, can’t. Before Ep 16 we had the self combusting heiress. Boring. Now I like the whole Jane schtick but I dont understand how we are expected to believe one week he is a shambling barely functioning wreck, the next week bright and breezy. Ok, some say it is an act and that is fine but really WTF? We have the Visualization loonies, we have a half dead RJ accomplice – but no lets investigate a case of sexual harassment in the army

The Mentalist has always been cute with the wording or image of red in its episode title. Now I have no idea how long Bruno thinks he can draw this out but the title for Ep 22 Season 5 – Red John’s Rules – promises yet another tease. Personally I would still watch The Mentalist after Red John was killed off because it is an enjoyable procedural and would not have to keep wondering if RJ was going to turn up again. Chances of that happening anytime soon is like Deb and Dexter doing the nasty next season.

Now I cant get the image of them doing it with a red smiley face above them out of my head. Damn.

Being a man of leisure these days – ok unpaid leisure at least:) – there is plenty of time to watch all the new TV shows but every now and then you go back and watch an old series and realise what you are missing. Recently decided to rewatch some later West Wing seasons having watched the early seasons on occasion. Started with Season 4 and before you know it finished Season 7 in 2-3 weeks. Its interesting, actually got quite sad as approached the end of season 7 knowing there was no more to come. Have seen the show in its entirety a few times over the years and can go back and watch selected episodes at times but having watched four seasons in a row recently felt the loss more this time around. Of course in another 12-18 months could start again and a lot would seem fresh again but there are some memorable characters that you simply miss when they are not around anymore in your life as pathetic as that may seem Probably not helped by the fact that it reinforces there simply are no great “drama”shows around in last several years, with possible exception of Breaking Bad and Mad Men, that engage you so much and you find yourself watching rubbish but only really understanding it is rubbish when some actual quality comes across your desk. Probably doesnt help it also makes me want to visit Washington again and I dont really have the resources for that anymore. Starting at Season 4 was also interesting to pass through the Sorkin departure. Many would say the show was not as good after he left and indeed most “greatest episodes ever” lists are heavily populated by the first 3 seasons and for good reason. It is not the post Sorkin era though in my view but rather the natural progression of the Bartlett term where it was lively and energetic in the first term and then slowly withered towards the end much as Jed himself did. Personally though I find the US election system fascinating so enjoyed the Santos/Vinnick campaigns enormously. Toby was often an annoying, though interesting character, but for me his story line in Season 7 was the only weak point for the whole series and he became largely unlikeable.

So I will keep watching Spartacus, Girls, Justified et al until it is time for another rewatch – or at least until BB and MM come back! The only show I get invested in at all at present is The Good Wife – and yes I know it is an odd choice but its mix of legal and politics just works for me and will have to do for the time being. Now if there was another WW around the corner then all my prayers would be answered.

Hey Francis 1 old mate got time for a miracle?