Terminator Genisys

Non-spoiler information

Date watched: 7/2/2015

My rating: 5/10

The count of times I have seen this at time of this review: 1st

Likelihood that I will watch this movie again: Maybe

I classify this as an action near time sci-fi movie. 

Marginal movie of this genre that I rate above this: Back to the Future III

Marginal movie of this genre that I rate lower then this: Fifth Element

This is a sequel to the Terminator movies (I have only seen Terminator I and II). It touches directly on material from both movies and builds the mythos, with the return casting of Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

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As a fan of the first two Terminator movies, I had some interest in watching this movie, even though I had read middling reviews of the successors to those movies (I intend to still see those movies and will review them when I do so). I hadn't heard a lot about the movie, although retrospectively, there has been quite a bit of noise about it, and apparently most of the plot was spoiled through trailers, etc.

This movie is definitively winking to Terminator fans. There is so much that fans of the originals will recognize and possibly enjoy. For myself, I mildly enjoyed these pieces of nostalgia. However, I also found them to be a bit over the top, and also that there was a bit too much sentimental.

There were several plot holes, which is almost a given when a movie deals with time travel. With a movie like this that has several instances of time travel, it becomes quite convoluted and difficult to follow. This movie was no exception.

One of the biggest holes that I had a problem with was John Conner, or more correctly, the subjugated form of John Conner. John had been forcibly assimilated in the future. He then offers this to Sarah and Kyle, but they refuse. What bothers me is why he doesn't just touch them and assimilate them as well, as was done to him. Of course I know the answer - because then there wouldn't be much of a movie! Several other pseudo science reasons could be provided (which the movie does an ample job of providing throughout the show).

Despite these criticisms, I found the movie to be enjoyable, just nothing special.

The Mentalist Season 2 Episode 20 - Red All Over

The Mentalist Season 2 Episode 20 - Red All Over

Non-spoiler information



Date watched: 6/20/2015

My rating: 6/10

The count of times I have seen this at time of this review: 1st

Likelihood that I will watch this episode again: Uncertain

I classify this as a cop drama with the super expert twist (similar to Monk, Psych, and Sherlock)

A powerful media mogul is celebrating a promotion his son has received in his company, when he stumbles out and collapses dead...and murdered!

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This episode reminds me of the A&E production of Who Murdered Roger Akroyd, with David Suchet as Poirot. Perhaps it is because the murder weapon is a letter opener. In any event, that warms me a bit to the episode. In fact, Agatha Christie stories are pretty much my benchmark for mysteries and detection work (with the possible exception of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle). 

For the first time in awhile, the suspect wasn't quite who I thought it was until later in the show. In fact, I called out a perky assistant as the murder when she appeared, but she never showed up again. 

Jane throws down with a cultist leader, which appears promising for future interaction, and as a new recurring villain maybe? We don't have much of that currently, except for the elusive Red John. Anyone connected to Red John has been systematically eliminated.

Only Jane and Lisbon have big roles in this show. Lisbon saves a little girl (and herself) from being blown up by a bomb completely by luck. Speaking of luck, Jane lectures the media mogul (who also turns out to be the murderer) about luck. I seemed to me that the lines should have been reversed in that conversation - they were playing backgammon and the mogul rolls a 12. He claims that it was skill, and all in the wrist. As someone who does those kinds of things routinely, I found Jane's responses a bit out of character (and it wasn't really cleared up later in the episode as these kinds of things have been before). Only the slight of hand trick references to it, but I don't see a direct connection that was made.

The episode was entertaining enough. Jane gets slapped by an angry woman and the mogul gets brought down by a series of tricks.

Jurassic World

Jurassic World

Non-spoiler information

Date watched: 6/20/2015

My rating: 7/10

The count of times I have seen this at time of this review: 1st

Likelihood that I will watch this movie again: Almost Certainly

I classify this as an action near time sci-fi movie. 

Marginal movie of this genre that I rate above this: King Kong (2005)

Marginal movie of this genre that I rate lower then this: Men in Black

A direct sequel to the original Jurassic Park, with several references both oblique, and direct. this movie features a new cast of characters exploring a spectacular derivative of the original Jurassic Park vision. 

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I remember when Jurassic Park came out. I was newly married and it was the summer of 1993. I watched it and loved it and went to see it in the theater many times. I was amazed after several weeks that the movie was sold out. I don't know if that occurs much anymore today. I have always been a big fan of dinosaurs (as I suspect many kids are, especially boys). Dinosaurs are a major part of public elementary education in the United States, in my perception. It was amazing for me to see dinosaurs "brought to life", both in CGI, and also in a quasi-plausible method that was illustrated in the movie. I bought the book by Michael Creighton, and was enthralled. I have also watched Jurassic Park II and III, with a mixed reaction to both of them.

I was pretty skeptical when I saw the first reviews of this show. The clips I saw of Chris Pratt were of him being serious and all "Ian Malcom" (the character from the first and second movies who is pessimistic regarding the future of the park). I also thought some of the things looked a little silly. However, I then saw another preview and was intrigued, because I saw the comedy of Chris, which is a big part of his appeal. I would say that this movie blends his action prowess with his comedy goofiness (although a bit light on that, as his character Owen isn't very goofy - one of the other characters refers to him as "pretty bad ass", which is a pretty apt description of him).

We immediately know from the introduction of the movie that the two boys, nephews of the controller of the park, Claire, that they are safe from any real danger (meaning being eaten by dinosaurs or otherwise killed). We also know that Owen and Claire themselves will be safe as well. It would be a dark movie indeed if one of these characters were killed. The safety of this knowledge allows us to tolerate the numerous "red shirt" deaths throughout the movie. There are two deaths that occur that are mildly surprising: the death of the owner of the park, and the death of the assistant, that had been assigned to the boys. On reflection, I feel that their deaths were foreshadowed in this way. The CEO was established as a bit of a rogue, as he loved flying the helicopter, even though he wasn't very good. The assistant is established a a bit put off by being assigned to the boys, and we don't make a real connection with her.

There is also some foreshadowing of the roles that the mesosaur and the tyrannosaurus (which has been annoyingly called the T-Rex ever since the first Jurassic Park) will perform later in the movie. We have a spectacular display of might by the mesosaur in a "Sea World" type of environment, complete with the mesosaur devouring a large (dead) great white shark. We also see the tyrannosaurus being viewed by the public in its display.

The movie has a lot of balls tossed up in the air and inspection of these leads to holes in the plot in a variety of places. It is unclear exactly what is going on. What first seems to have happened is that the company overreached, and created too dangerous of a dinosaur hybrid. Then it is implied that this was purposely done, but that lead isn't quite followed up on completely. We do know that the oily character Hoskins will die a violent death. In fact, we also get the bonus of seeing Owen deck him in the face before poetic justice is given to him by the jaws of one of the raptors he thought he could waltz in and control.

Stepping back a minute, I saw two direct references to one of my favorite sci-fi movies of all time, Aliens. In Aliens, the marines engage the hive of ...er... Aliens, and are told to use non-lethal weaponry. This same scene is replicated with a group of operatives that attempt to contain the newly rampaging tyrano-chameleon-frog-raptor thing. The operatives are predictably (both by us and the prescient Owen) slaughtered wholesale, and we see them perish with their bio-display blinking out, very similarly to how the marines perished way back in 1986. Also, the slime ball Hoskins perishes in a manner reminiscent of the slime ball Burke in Aliens.

Don't read the next parts in red below if you want to read the graphic novel Aliens Book Two first.

http://avp.wikia.com/wiki/Aliens_(series_2)

There is another reference to Aliens, although a bit more obscure. Dark Horse Comics published (and still publishes) a line of comics depicting the Aliens universe. In a sequel to the action in Aliens, a man named General Spears has dreams of grandeur of commanding a group of trained Aliens to rescue Earth, which has also been overrun by Aliens. This plot is very similar to what Hoskins is dreaming up, although General Spears puts a lot more personal effort into building a rapport with his murderous team before he is ultimately destroyed by them. 

I enjoyed the nostalgic parts of this movie that recall the fun of Jurassic Park. The big one is the sound track, which has both the traditional soaring symphonic theme song, and in parts of the movie, a more subtle rendition (I noticed it in the old Jurassic Park building where the boys discover the old Jeep). Also, the chief geneticist BD Wong is reprising his role as Dr. Henry Wu, which was a nice little Easter egg.

Overall, this movie is fun and has plenty of action. The movie was not ruined too much for me to inspect it and find the parts that didn't quite connect, or perhaps were gaping holes.

The Cokeville Miracle

The Cokeville Miracle

Non-spoiler information

Date watched: 6/19/2015

My rating: 10/10

The count of times I have seen this at time of this review: 1st

Likelihood that I will watch this movie again: Absolutely

I classify this as a true life inspirational story

Marginal movie of this genre that I rate above this: None that I can think of

Marginal movie of this genre that I rate lower then this: The Other Side of Heaven

This is a story based on a true life event in the town of Cokeville Wyoming. A historical overview and examination of motive is presented, but it is primarily a story of what happened to the survivors. 

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First and foremost, I am heavily biased towards this movie. It is a movie about people of my faith and it deals with things that I hold most sacred and special. Much of what is presented in this movie resonates strongly with me and rings true. I don't expect that will be the case for everyone that watches this. My rating for this movie goes beyond the acting, to the message that was delivered to me, and that message hit a home run. 

Nevertheless, I found the acting to be very good, especially for children. There are incidents of the children recounting what they saw, and happened, which include stories of Angels and family members that guarded and protected. These stories are told in a matter of fact manner, not in a dramatic, you have to believe me manner. In fact, the children show some reluctance to share the story, which I found believable. 

There is a part of the story where the main protagonist, a father and member of the Sheriff's department, is investigating what happened. He has been collecting spiritual evidences and he says, perhaps the greatest miracle was that there was no police officers around when this went down, because if he had been there (he was about 2 hours out of town when he received notice), he would have burst in there and probably would have gotten most or all of them killed. I had much the same feelings when the event was rolling out - I wanted to go in and beat the living crud out of the hostage keeper. I realized that this is what is wrong with many of us - we let anger inflame our emotions and do what the adversary would have us do. One of the major messages of this movie is that a calm word turns away anger - the bomb went off accidentally and without emotion. There were many incidents where anger was turned away by inspiration from the teachers and other adults present. The principal was non-confrontational and consoling and that kept immediate violence from happening. 

I believe in God, miracles, Angels, and that our family members are still alive in the afterlife (what I call the Spirit world). I believe that our family members care about us greatly, but are under a strict law of intervention, and only under unusual circumstances are they allowed to directly interact with us. I don't know the details of this law, but I believe that it exists. I also don't know why tragedy occurs in this life. I have my guesses about some things, faith in others, and knowledge of a few, but I suppose that if I knew all the answers, I would have no purpose of living in this worldly existence. 

As I was watching this movie, my thoughts were also there for the poor people that were slaughtered in Charleston South Carolina a few days ago. I served my mission in South Carolina and Georgia and I love those people. Many of the people I met and interacted with are people of faith and love. I especially loved working with the African American people. In fact, I found them to be the most open to conversation, discussion, and brotherhood. It greatly pains me that another madman (in some ways similar to the madman portrayed in this movie) killed those worshipers. My prayers are for those families, friends, and neighbors that are suffering from the tragedy that occurred. I hope and pray that we can turn away from violence and be healed with love and unity for each other. I hope that we can limit the attention on the wicked man, and instead grow together as neighbors.

The Mentalist Season 2 Episode 19 - Blood Money

The Mentalist Season 2 Episode 19 - Blood Money

Non-spoiler information

Date watched: 6/17/2015

My rating: 6/10

The count of times I have seen this at time of this review: 1st

Likelihood that I will watch this episode again: Uncertain

I classify this as a cop drama with the super expert twist (similar to Monk, Psych, and Sherlock)

The team hunts down an apparent serial killer and the aftermath of Van Pelt and Rigsby relationship after the breakup at the end of Episode 18. 

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This episode started out with what appeared to be a big twist in the story line, with Van Pelt ordering a hit on Rigsby. This turns out to be a flash forward in the show, and Van Pelt is actually setting up the killer. This fooled me for a little bit, but I believe it would have been completely out of character for what had been established for Van Pelt, so I am glad that they didn't really go this direction. 

This episode establishes the feedback that Jane has built up in the many other episodes. After capturing the killer, a hearing occurs and in it, it is revealed that Jane had broken into the killers home and left a mug with his finger prints. This leads the hearing to be canceled, and the assistant DA, who was prosecuting the case, is very upset with Jane. Also, Lisbon appears to be upset with Jane. This leads to Hightower suspending Lisbon for a few days. The rest of the team is pretty peeved with Jane, especially Cho. For the most part in past episodes, Jane seems to get away with a lot of antics, without much repercussion. This episode shows some of that repercussion, but as it turns out, the assistant DA was working his own angle, and so his derision isn't quite as pure as it sounded before. 

There is an interesting interaction with a gang that is involved with the killings to some extent (I didn't really pickup on it very well in my watching). Jane reveals that a "senile" mom is actually the brains behind the outfit. Jane does his smarmy "I'm so clever routine", but this time it leads to Lisbon and him being captured and locked in a storage container. Jane had called Lisbon in for assistance, and she reluctantly agreed to help, after Jane trumps her arguments to not assist (as she was still on probation). 

There are some clever bits with Jane deducing that the assistant DA was responsible for the initial murder (who was also in the DA's office and scheduled to become the DA). The assistant DA kills the killer when he is picked up again. Jane traps the assistant DA into bringing Jane in for a hearing, when Jane commits battery on him, by tweaking his nose. This allows Jane do his reveal to the Judge. 

Jane is given lots of latitude for shenanigans, as usual. One thing in particular that doesn't ring true for me is the accused always spilling their guts without their lawyer present. I know that this is needed for good TV, and to tie up loose ends in episodes, but it is still a bit too perfect. 

I enjoyed this episode and found the twists and turns to be fun. 

Greek Myths - by Ann Turnbull, illustrated by Sarah Young

Greek Myths - by Ann Turnbull, illustrated by Sarah Young

Non-spoiler information

Date read: 5/11/2015

My rating: 7/10

The count of times I have seen this at time of this review: 1st

Likelihood that I will watch this movie again: Doubtful

I classify this as a YA mythology book

This edition that I read is an oversized hardback book, with many painted illustrations. It is split into three different groups of stories:

• Earth, the Heavens , and the Underworld
• Monsters and heroes
• Gods and Mortals

This book addresses many of the more well known myths and a few of the lesser known. 

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I have always enjoyed Greek mythology, and I believe it started by finding a book similar to this in my elementary school library. It told the stories of the Greek gods, heroes, and monsters, with many illustrations to add to my imagination. Closely followed by this I saw Clash of the Titans (the original back in 1981).

This book divides its stories into three classifications. There is an introduction that talks about all of the gods and then the stories dive right into the action. Sometimes, they are small in scope, other times, they have a more broad application. Many of the stories lead to the next one, which I really enjoyed. The art is dreamy with enough realism to tell the story. For me, I found this refreshing and added greatly to the prose.

As to stories of the major gods, I was a bit surprised how scattered they are. Zeus is mentioned a few times, Hades is a main character in the story of Persephone, and is mentioned in the story prior (Arethusa, which has an interesting tie in that I hadn't heard before). Poseidon is barely mentioned. Hera serves as a villain in one story; Apollo, Ares, and Hephaistus little or nothing told about them. Artemis, Aphrodite, Hermes, and Dionysus have major roles in the stories, and I believe that Athena has the most told about her - she serves as a major figure in the story of Arachne.

The stories are usually brief, but I found them to be entertaining and also were good reading before bed (I could get through a couple without feeling that I was staying up too late).

My oldest son is very interested in Greek mythology currently (thanks mostly to the Percy Jackson movies and books) and by reading this, I was able to be fresh on the subject matter for discussion with him.

The Avengers - Age of Ultron

The Avengers - Age of Ultron

Non-spoiler information

Date watched: 5/12/2015

My rating: 6/10

The count of times I have seen this at time of this review: 1st

Likelihood that I will watch this movie again: Probably

I classify this as a comic book movie

Marginal movie of this genre that I rate above this: X-Men X2

Marginal movie of this genre that I rate lower then this: Spider-Man

The follow-up to the smash hit Avengers, this movie picks up from the plot lines of that movie, as well as several of the "solo-shot" Avenger movies such as Captain America: Winter Soldier. This movie continues to build the Avenger world carefully, perhaps a bit too carefully.

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I enjoyed this movie, especially the references to the coming conflict with Thanos and the Infinity Gems / Gauntlet. However, that strength also is a weakness: how much buildup can there be, without some deflation, or missing the target? I will make my point in several different examples.

The first is the invulnerability of most of the characters. In the first movie, Hawkeye was temporarily subverted by Loki, and Agent Phil Coulson was (apparently) killed. As a fan of comics, one of my biggest complaints is that no one really dies. If a character is viewed as interesting, the character will be resurrected or brought back to life in some manner. My case in point is Gwen Stacy. For decades, Marvel resisted bringing her back to life, but finally their "collective will" was broken and they just couldn't help themselves. They did the same thing by bringing Agent Coulson (a well liked character) back in Agents of Shield. What this means is that there is no real pathos or grief when a character dies - we don't know if they are really dead, and we don't want to be fooled by their death. Several major characters have suffered death in the comics, only to be brought back to life again after a discrete amount of time (mourning?).

The second is measuring the power of these characters, and then conveying that to the audience. This is almost always done in contests of prowess. Unfortunately, these are so subjective and almost impossible to measure except in death or dismemberment.  Perhaps this is why these movies always escalate to some grand destruction (the wholesale mayhem that occurred in the city in the first Avengers and then the somehow topped mayhem of lifting an entire city from the ground in this show). The problem for me, is that I then don't identify with the characters. Take for instance Quicksilver in this show: he dominates a couple of the Avengers early on and from my position, I was wondering why he didn't just finish off the whole team? Then, in the casualties of the mayhem, they kill him off. Why? He wasn't quick enough - but he was faster then anyone else on the team, and they come off without a scratch (figuratively, not literally as one of the best ways of showing that the heroes have suffered is to scratch up their shield paint, or tear their uniform). I know that we are supposed to swallow incongruities like this left and right to enjoy superhero movies, but sometimes it comes too close to the surface to ignore.

The third is actually the culminations of the ideas I presented in the first two. In real life, we do at times build to a crescendo of doom, but how do we identify with or make context with a cosmic being that will be engaging with the team in the near future? The comics usually deal with this by reducing the main story to a dialogue between a few characters. For instance, in the comic version of the Infinity Gauntlet released in 1991, Thanos is the main antagonist, with the Silver Surfer being his main foil. Other characters became part of the tapestry. This allows us to examine the mind of Thanos and the Silver Surfer and build their story together. This seems to be highly unlikely to happen with the pending conflict. We will be dealing with a large cast of characters, in 120 - 180 minutes. The Avengers have succeeded so far because they have developed their characters back stores and such in their own movies (except Hawkeye and Black Widow). Then they weave their stories with the main movie, as they did with this one and its predecessor. The problem is that they have grown the cast of characters, and hinted a change of the team for the future.

The inevitable result (for me) is that the build-up leads to a bust. In this movie, the only time Ultron really presents much menace is at the beginning, when he is in a twisted shell of a form, and the Avengers are caught flat footed (because of the machinations of Tony Stark and to a lesser extent, Bruce Banner). After that scene, Ultron no longer seems very threatening. Sure, he throws a seemingly endless stream of bots at the Avengers, but none of them are worthy of him. Also, Ultron chooses to keep his same form and doesn't really surprise. I found it a little hard to believe that the Avengers actually had a safe house that he couldn't find.

Nevertheless, this was an enjoyable movie to watch. The highlight for me is the offline conversations that occur - the surprising relationship development of Banner and Romanoff; the tension between Tony Stark and Thor, and the around the table camaraderie of them all, culminating in them each doing the "Excalibur" challenge with Thor's hammer.

The Mentalist Season 2 Episode 18 - Aingavite Baa

The Mentalist Season 2 Episode 18 - Aingavite Baa

Non-spoiler information

Date watched: 6/14/2015

My rating: 5/10

The count of times I have seen this at time of this review: 1st

Likelihood that I will watch this episode again: Uncertain

I classify this as a cop drama with the super expert twist (similar to Monk, Psych, and Sherlock)

A somewhat familiar trope of mystery and cop shows: a amnesic victim that slowly develops the story with their memory. Also includes further development of Rigsby and Van Pelt's relationship, and the triangle relationship between new boss Hightower, Jane, and Lisbon.

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This episode houses one of my biggest pet peeves of series television. That is, the commitment to a core group of characters. There are threats of characters leaving or changing, but this either falls through, or the character disappears forever (being written out of the show). The 800 pound gorilla in the room is contracted actors with the buy-in from the audience. This greatly limits the natural flow of story, and character development. Characters are not allowed to flow like they normally would in real life - of course, interesting plots and events occur at a much higher rate then they do in normal life as well, which is why we watch in the first place. Some series television have "done better" with this issue, in my opinion. The best example I have off the top of my head is Lost, which killed off (or wandered off story) several major characters over the course of the show.

The main plot of this episode is the discovery of an intended murder victim. This victim was thought to have been killed by the killer, but wasn't and is found wandering around with amnesia. This allows Jane to ply his trade of hypnotism and other mental tricks throughout the episode. I mentioned in my review of S2E17 that Jane is usually spot on with his observations (or if he isn't, it was planned as a ploy of some kind). There is a small incident where he accuses a man and then admits he was wrong; it is unclear if he was simply guessing (although guessing is brought up in another context about his techniques in this episode), or if it was a ploy to get more information.

I found the amnesia plot to be standard stuff, nothing spectacular. There were a few red herrings in the show, such as a marijuana farm and being shot at by one of the farmers. Also, as I discussed in S2E17, the murderer is a somewhat sympathetic person introduced earlier in the show. He is a cheerful souvenir salesman, who makes a profit on the Indian "relic" trade, and unconcerned as the things he sells aren't really a part of his heritage. There seems to be some material there, but probably not for a 40 minute episode where that is not really the main focus - it is rather that this peddler has been engaging in unseemly trade with a producer of toxic waste, and has been dumping it in reservation water for a lot of cash.

For some reason, the reveal of dumping waste for cash seemed a bit weak to me. Maybe it is because the murder did in fact commit premeditated murder, but then his character did not have any of the traits of someone that would do that - there is an apology scene that comes off as some kind of weak joke.

My first paragraph above talks about character movement, and it is addressed towards the relationship development of Rigsby and Van Pelt. First of all, we know that either they won't break up officially (which would mean that one would be written out of the series), or that they do officially, but unofficially they still have the secret flame, which will bring about many other plots in future stories. For me, this is where this relationship "jumped the shark"; in earlier episodes they dealt with this impossible tension, as the characters struggled with the attraction, gave in, confessed, and then fought each other with the fallout. Lisbon temporarily let them off the hook, be we were given the impression that the relationship was on the rocks because of things said. Then, last episode they quickly reconciled (I wrote about that as well). I liked how Rigsby was going to leave, but then Van Pelt comes in and says she can't have him leaving, as he will come to hate her for this. Well, maybe in a shallow relationship, but in a real relationship they would work out these issues. Of course, in almost all TV relationships, sexual intimacy is a given and marriage is rarely discussed, except as some great plot point to work towards.

So, overall, this episode left me rather luke-warm.

The Mentalist Season 2 Episode 17 - The Red Box

The Mentalist Season 2 Episode 17 - The Red Box

Non-spoiler information

Date watched: 6/11/2015

My rating: 6/10

The count of times I have seen this at time of this review: 1st

Likelihood that I will watch this episode again: Uncertain

I classify this as a cop drama with the super expert twist (similar to Monk, Psych, and Sherlock)

This episode develops the relationship between Patrick Jane and Teresa Lisbon. We also return after several episodes to the romantic relationship between Wayne Rigsby and Grace Van Pelt.

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I found this episode of the Mentalist to be marginally better then the others as a whole - that doesn't mean that I found it to be the best episode, just that I enjoyed it more then the sum of all episodes that I have seen so far.

Jane has a constant teasing rapport with agent Lisbon. Much of this is Jane making some observation, and then Lisbon denying that it is true. We, as the audience, fully believe that Jane has made a correct observation, as that is what Jane does. Contrasting this with the somewhat similar Psych, Shawn would make observations initially that were increasingly off base. He comes across as immature, goofy, but ultimately successful. So far in the series, Jane is correct about almost all of his observations - when he is not, it has been trivial. This makes him seem to be a super human, that is infallible, at least in the art of observation and deduction. The show makes up for this by presenting Jane as both equal parts charming and arrogant, which does quite a bit to reduce how insufferable he can be perceived. Again in contrast, Sherlock Holmes in his various film incarnations is arrogant and aloof.

One flaw that I have noticed so far in this series, and that occurs in this episode, is that the nice, interesting character turns out to be the villain. This happened with Rigsby's friend this time, who established the buddy relationship early on, only to turn out to be both the murderer and a rogue. Another contrast is with Agatha Christie - the annoying, arrogant characters in her novels are usually the murder victim, not a red herring suspect as they so often are in this show.

Another development is the introduction of a superior for Agent Lisbon. We have been waiting for this for several episodes, since her previous superior retired. So far, the new superior is charismatic, with the authority driven home whenever there is an opportunity. It remains to be seen how the screen chemistry will work for her. Lisbon definitely appears to be cowed by her. In fact, as word about Lisbon (or more accurately actress Robin Tunney) - she is well cast for this show. She is usually low key with her emotions. She cares about her team and often appears to be wondering what in the heck they are doing, especially Jane. Her facial expressions and the way she tilts her face as she observes Jane's antics are part of why I really enjoy this show.

Finally, we have the return of the romantic relationship of Wayne and Grace. The chill that had been building up is present at first, but then they break through into flirting and warmth towards each other again. Perhaps if this could have been developed a bit more through a few episodes, it would have felt a bit more real to me. Just to throw it in Lisbon's craw, her superior almost immediately detects the relationship and calls her on it. The boss is starting to seem almost as omniscient as Jane himself, which Jane comments on at the end of the episode.