Year:  2011
Genre:  Drama, Crime, Dark
Country:  United States
Language:   English
Starring:  Sam Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jessica Chastain, Annabeth Gish
Director:  Ami Canaan Mann
Run time:  105 minutes
DVD distributor:  Alliance Films

     I remember a few years ago, when the movie Kick-Ass came out, and everyone was ranting and raving about Chloe Grace Moretz and her performance as Hit-Girl.  Well, some were ranting and some were raving.  Such a young girl playing such an adult role!  She’ll be screwed up for life!  It’s totally inappropriate!  Also, she’s incredibly GOOD!

     I’m surprised that those offended by Kick-Ass haven’t said a thing about Texas Killing Fields, where Chloe Moretz plays a much, much darker and more horrific role than anything one could have imagined in Kick-Ass.  She plays a little girl whose drunken disgusting mother keeps kicking her out of the house so she can prostitute herself to the locals. There is a constant undercurrent of menace there too, like this unfortunate little girl could be abused at any time, or worse.  And there are much worse things going on in Texas Killing Fields. A serial killer is abducting, raping and murdering women, then dumping their bodies in the middle of nowhere in an oil field.  Sam Worthington and Jeffrey Dean Morgan are the small town cops hunting down the killer and dealing with creepy locals.

     The one film I can compare this one to (for those still interested in watching a dark, freaky, gut-wrenching movie) is Winter’s Bone.  It’s similarly bleak, it’s just as creepy and dangerous a small town, but instead of crystal meth labs it’s underage prostitution rings.  Still want to see it?  Good, you should see it.  Texas Killing Fields may be bleak and harsh and dark but it’s VERY good, and it’s on DVD today from Alliance Films.

Year:  1970
Genre:  Blu-Ray, Romance, Drama
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Ali McGraw, Ryan O’Neal, Ray Milland, John Marley
Notable bit part:  Tommy Lee Jones
Director:  Arthur Hiller
Run time:  99 minutes
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     Movies don’t get more chick flicky than Love Story.  Ali McGraw, Ryan O’Neal, two kids in love and defying the odds in this crazy world.  Parents that just don’t understand, the failed attempts to start a family, the sudden diagnosis of a horrible disease, and the bizarre decision to keep that diagnosis from the person it affects most.  And of course, it’s all about “love means never having to say you’re sorry” and the huge tear-jerker ending.

     Now, that being said, here’s the thing about Love Story.  It’s good.  Like, actually, geninuely GOOD.  Love Story is what chick flicks should be – it’s entertaining enough and the characters are likeable and genuine enough that I can stomach the maudlin boo-hoo business that closes out the film.  I actually LIKE Love Story.  It’s deservedly a classic, although sadly a classic that spawned a whole lot of inferior and putrid movies from the same template…Sandra Bullock, Hugh Grant and Katherine Heigl, I’m looking at your careers…

     Now Love Story is on Blu-Ray for the first time, February 7^th from Paramount Home Entertainment.  It’s a good transfer, and the movie holds up well without feeling dated.  I would, however, just throw in a word of caution here. This is NOT a good way to suck up to your wife or girlfriend on Valentine’s Day. Not only can YOUR love never measure up to this one in any way, but you will also spend most of the rest of the evening wiping away tears and not getting laid.  Just sayin’.

     One more thing.  There is a small chance that you, too, will cry while watching Love Story.  If this happens, there is a good chance that your wife will notice, and an even better chance that she will bring it up at dinner parties for years to come.  So, watch this.  Cause it’s good.  But maybe do it alone, to preserve whatever masculinity you might have!

Year:  1989
Genre:  TV series, Drama
Country:  United States
Languages:  English
Starring:  Tom Bosley, Tracy Nelson, Mary Wickes 
Guest stars:  Leslie Nielsen, several other familiar faces whose names are…less familiar
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment
DVD extras:  Not much of anything

     The Father Dowling Mysteries was a short-lived TV crime drama from the late 80s and early 90s.  The first season comes to DVD February 7th from Paramount Home Entertainment, I assume the other two will follow shortly and then we will all forget about the program for the rest of our lives.

     The show starred Tom Bosley (famous as Howard Cunningham on Happy Days) and Tracy Nelson (famous because her father was Ricky Nelson and her brothers were Gunnar and Matthew of the band Nelson).  Bosley was Father Dowling, a Catholic priest who became embroiled in all kinds of murder mysteries for one reason or another.  Some were plausible – a dying man seeks sanctuary in the church.  Some were not – evil twin.  Yeah.  Evil twin.

     Nelson was his faithful nun sidekick Sister Stephanie.  Or Steve, most of the time.  Her character is one of the silliest in TV history, and almost every morsel of enjoyment I took out of the Father Dowling Mysteries came courtesy of the totally bonkers nun character. 

     I found it totally hilarious when she beats the local tough-kid gang members in a game of basketball to get them to do something for her.  Or when she defeats pool sharks by sharking them at pool to get information.  She of course can also win a bicycle race, break into a house and a car and a safe if need be, and handle firearms. Oh, she has more talents – but you’ll just have to watch the show!

     Sister Stephanie, you see, was “saved” by Father Dowling once.  How, I’m not sure.  The Saving Of Steve is never really explained.  But we get hints as to her past – she may or may not have been a prostitute, she was definitely a pickpocket and a thief, she grew up in the tough neighbourhood, and was likely a drug addict of some kind.  (The show is about the church – it was a little too sanitized to really go into detail about that sort of thing.)

     At any rate, it’s clear to me that Steve was one of those people whose life was spiralling downhill at such a fast pace that she had two choices – either convert to a religion of some kind, or blow her own head off.  She chose the religion, apparently because it allows her to lie and cheat and steal and do all the things she was already doing – but now it’s in the name of God!

     The first season opens with a two-part episode starring Leslie Nielsen as an elected official embroiled in a murder-adoption-bribery-mafia scandal.  The church and Father Dowling are tangentially involved at best, but that doesn’t stop him from investigating.  By the end of the season, Father Dowling’s evil twin brother has shown up to mastermind a jewelry heist.  And I thought – once you play the “evil twin” card, where can you go from there? But apparently, there are two more seasons that show they managed to go somewhere!

Years:  1972, 1973
Genre:  TV series, Drama
Country:  United States
Languages:  English
Starring:  Mike Connors, Gail Fisher, Robert Reed
Guest stars:  Martin Sheen, Burgess Meredith, Abe Vigoda, William Shatner, Anne Archer, Marion Ross, Robert Reed, Jessica Walter
Theme music composer:  Lalo Schifrin
Run time:  21 hours 18 minutes
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment
DVD extras:  Not much of anything
Related reviews:  Mannix Season Two, Mannix Season One, Mannix Season Three, Mannix Season Four, Mannix Season Five

     As you can see from the picture above, very little has changed in the world of Mannix for the sixth season.  The DVD cover of all six have featured basically this exact same picture…a pastel background and Mike Connors looking at me.  Then six bullets.  You know, to reinforce that this is season SIX.  For those who can’t read, but can count.

     The sixth season itself is indistinguishable from the previous five, in that Mannix takes on a series of investigations – from finding a little kid’s stamp collection (which is probably plausible for a private investigator) to going undercover in a mob organization (which probably isn’t).  No matter what case he takes, though, one thing is for certain – Mannix will be shot at.  Even when attempting to recover a stamp collection, he will have shots fired his way.

     So the only thing that will set Season Six apart from other seasons is the guest list, which is highlighted by Martin Sheen, who appears as an amnesiac war veteran being conned into a heist by some nefarious characters.  This episode came just before Sheen became a major star – a year before his star turn in Terrence Malick’s Badlands and eight years before his definitive role in Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. 

     Other stars who appear in the sixth season, like Marion Ross and Jessica Walter, have appeared in previous seasons of Mannix, then there’s William Shatner who used to show up in every single TV series ever created.  And Burgess Meredith and Abe Vigoda.  So…not a stellar guest list this time around. 

     I like Mannix, and I find myself rooting for him not to be shot in most episodes.  And sure, it’s the same thing episode after episode, season after season.  But there’s something to be said for knowing just what you’re gonna get, and liking it.  Which means there’s something to be said for Mannix.

Year:  2010
Genre:  Drama
Countries:  France
Language:  French w/ English subtitles
Starring:  Isabelle Huppert, Bouli Lanners, Sabila Moussadek
Director:  Jeanne Labrune
Run time:  95 minutes
DVD distributor:  First Run Features

      Isabelle Huppert is probably the best French actress working today.  She has given electrifying, erotic and deeply personal performances in dozens of good movies over the past decade, like La Vie Promise and Merci Pour Le Chocolat.  And she is once again magnificent in 2010’s Special Treatment, on DVD now from First Run Features.

     The thing is, Isabelle Huppert is really the only GREAT thing about Special Treatment.  She plays a prostitute, one who services her clients in a variety of ways, dressing up and dressing down and sometimes, it appears, a little rough stuff.  She wants to get out of the life, and a particularly disturbing encounter with a client appears to be the last straw.  But she doesn’t seem to know how to quit. 

     The prostitute is one story, and at the same time Special Treatment tells the story of Xavier, a therapist with marital troubles who is just going through the motions with his clients. 

     We’re supposed to see parallels between Xavier’s therapy sessions and Alice’s prostitution sessions.  He charges people for ten sessions at a time, so does she.  He questions the validity of what he’s doing, so does she.  His job seems to be distancing him from those around him, including his wife.  So does hers. 

     The thing is, I get it.  Okay, they’re similar.  It feels too heavy-handed to me – after all, what prostitute has ever offered ten-session packages to her customers, and why bother doing that unless you want to make it totally clear that THEY HAVE SIMILAR PROFESSIONS!

     When Xavier and Alice finally get together, and might be able to help each other in some way, the movie picks up a bit.  But again, it’s Huppert who makes the whole thing worthwhile. Her performance is bold, strong and vulnerable all at the same time.

     The only problem I have with it is that she never takes her clothes off.  Come on, you’re playing a prostitute. If any role calls for tasteful nudity, it’s this one.  If you had done THAT, there would have been TWO reasons to watch Special Treatment.

Years:  1979, 1980
Genre:  TV series, Cop, Drama
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Jack Lord, Kam Fong
Creator:  Leonard Freeman
Run time:  19 hours, 51 minutes
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

        The twelfth and final season of Hawaii Five-O comes to DVD January 10^th from Paramount Home Entertainment.  The show was clearly on the way out from episode one, as Danno is now gone and with the exception of Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett, the whole cast has pretty much changed.

     As always, there are some fairly interesting guest stars, like Jeff Daniels who shows up for an episode about remote controlled planes being used to rob a museum.  But since this is the very last season, of the original run of Hawaii Five-O, it’s all about one episode, the very last one, where McGarrett finally catches Wo Fat. 

     Of course, if this were today’s Hawaii Five-O, there would be six lead-up episodes during the season and a gigantic three-part finale to close out the whole deal.  Not in 1980.  The big series finale is one, stand-alone episode, where McGarrett disguises himself as an internationally renowned Nobel Prize winning scientist in order to infiltrate Wo Fat’s compound and prevent him from obtaining some kind of weapon of mass destruction.

     In the end, the final confrontation involves no explosions, no real gunfights, no car chases and no ticking time bombs.  It’s just McGarrett and Wo Fat having a good, old-fashioned fist fight.  Then instead of killing him, McGarrett makes the arrest, even without Danno around to “book him”.  In the end, the final season of Hawaii Five-O is probably the weakest of the whole series.  But it’s still a lot of fun, and hearkens back to a different age of television. 

     It occurred to me, watching Wo Fat and McGarrett in their fist fight, that no one does good fist fights any more.  Watch any of today’s shows, and the characters have to be superhuman badasses.  Which means that when, say, LL Cool J fights someone on NCIS: LA, he can’t have a real fight because he’s too badass.  He’s a SEAL, you know.  So when he has to fight, he just does some move and knocks the guy out and breaks his arm.  It’s over. 

     I blame Steven Seagal.  You’ll notice that in his movies, he never got into a fist fight, like Bruce Willis did.  He just beat people up and never got touched.  Even when he finally tracked down Bobby Lupo’s killer Ritchie, he just threw him into a series of glass objects until he got tired of it and put a corkscrew in his eye.  Now, many movies and a ton of TV shows follow that lead.  It really makes Hawaii Five-O feel even more old-school than it actually is!

Year:  1946
Genre:  Classic, Christmas, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Blu Ray 
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
Director:  Frank Capra
Run time:  130 minutes
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     A year or two ago, I reviewed a two-disc special edition of the classic It’s a Wonderful Life.  It came in a box with a little bell, and had some great special features like a making-of documentary hosted by Tom Bosley, and a tribute to Frank Capra narrated by Frank Capra Jr.

     On November 1^st, Paramount Home Entertainment releases a new two-disc special edition box set of the classic It’s A Wonderful Life.  This one comes with a little bell and some great special features like a making-of documentary hosted by Tom Bosley, and a tribute to Frank Capra narrated by Frank Capra Jr. 

     So, what’s the difference?  Well, this one is a Blu-Ray.  And I know what you’re thinking.  You’re thinking…a classic black-and-white movie on Blu-Ray?  What’s the point?  Does black and white look any better in super high definition?  Well, the answer is no. 

     The reason, I think, for the Blu-ray treatment here is the second disc, which features the colorized version of the movie.  That process in the old days of film where they ADDED colour to black and white movies so modern low brow movie watchers (like my sister) would find them more palatable.

     I am not one of those movie watchers.  I find colorizing a classic like It’s A Wonderful Life to be akin to blasphemy, and I won’t be watching it.  And so for me, there is absolutely no difference between the NEW It’s a Wonderful Life box set with a bell and the older one with a bell.  Except that the blu-ray is the only box set on the shelves right now.  And you NEED It’s A Wonderful Life in your collection.

Year:  1962
Genre:  TV series, Lawyer, Drama
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     In most cop shows, the cops use some varied techniques to catch the bad guys.  In Blue Bloods, Donnie Wahlberg just beats everyone up until someone finally turns out to be the killer.  In CSI and NCIS, they examine forensic evidence until the killer is behind bars.  In Criminal Minds they investigate his brain until they find him.  And in Hawaii Five-O, they just drive around in fancy cars, banter a bit and flex a little, and eventually the bad guy just seems to show up for some reason.

     But it wasn’t always this way.  No, sometimes there were shows where the cops didn’t catch the bad guys.  In fact, there were shows where the cops were so incompetent that they always arrested the wrong people.  One of those shows was Perry Mason back in the 50s and 60s.  Season Six, volume one comes to DVD October 4th from Paramount Home Entertainment. 

     The DVD set features fourteen episodes where Perry Mason masterfully  defends all kinds of wrongfully accused folks.  It’s convenient for him, and for the show, that his clients are always innocent of the murders they are accused of committing.  Not so convenient, however, for the cops.  They try to catch the killer of an old book dealer.  They arrest the wrong woman.  They go after the killer of a super rich heir.  They arrest the wrong woman.  They investigate the shooting of a nefarious boxing promoter, and arrest the wrong man.

     At what point does the police department start getting embarassed?  It’s always the same cops arresting the wrong people.  It’s always the police department who end up with egg on their face.  In fact, to add insult to injury, Perry Mason himself actually solves the crimes and finds the real killers!  The cops here have like a nine percent conviction rate. 

     If I was a baker, and I made tasty cakes NINE percent of the time, I would lose my job.  But these cops somehow keep their jobs, and leave Perry Mason to clean up after them.  I’m cool with it though.  After all, competent cops would make for a less interesting show, and I’m all about some Perry Mason.

Year:  1984
Genre:  Blu-Ray, Romance, Drama
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow, Chris Penn, Dianne Wiest Notable bit parts:  Sarah Jessica Parker
Director:  Herbert Ross
Run time:  107 minutes
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     Sometimes, a movie comes along that defines a generation.  And sometimes, that movie is later relegated to the dustbin of history, because that generation wasn’t really worth reflecting.  And sometimes, the Blu-Ray box of a movie SAYS that it was one of these generation-defining movies, and I stop and think, no.  That is just not true.  At least, I hope it isn’t true.

     Such is the case with the Blu-Ray issue of Footloose, out September 27^th from Paramount Home Entertainment.  Really?  This movie defined a generation?  A generation, I suppose, where movies were painful and silly, featured long dance montages that drag out that pain, and women had big hair and irritating personalities.  That’s not a generation I want to remember. 

     On the other hand, it might be a movie that reflects a generation where Kevin Bacon was really young, where Chris Penn was thin and still alive, and Sarah Jessica Parker was a secondary character actress, and John Lithgow was the bad guy minister, and Lori Singer was super hot and slutty despite being awful.  Now THAT’s the kind of generation I like.

     There is a Footloose remake coming to big screens in a couple of weeks, which I guess prompted this Blu-Ray release.  Once again, it’s going to be about a small town somewhere in the U.S. where rock and roll and dancing have been outlawed.  I’m pretty sure it won’t define OUR generation any more than it defined 1984.  I’m not even sure Footloose would have defined a generation in 1950.

     My wife loves movies from the 80s, since she is of that generation.  She watches Grease and Dirty Dancing every time they are on TV, even though we already own both movies on VHS and DVD and Blu-Ray and in box sets and special editions and so forth.  She is clearly the target audience for Footloose, which is also about dancing and rebellious kids from out of town.  But she HATES Footloose.  Even with a terrific transfer onto Blu-Ray.  I can’t say that I disagree with her.

Years:  2010, 2011
Genre:  TV series, Cop, Drama
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Alex O’Loughlin, Scott Caan, Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     There are very few similarities between the original Hawaii Five-O and the new one.  Only the surface of the show remains the same – cops in Hawaii, McGarrett and Danno and Chin Ho, the classic theme song.  Aside from that, the substance is markedly different.  Rather than being a calculated, clever chess master always one step ahead of the bad guys, McGarrett is a gung-ho, muscular tattooed badass killing machine demolitions expert sniper ex-Navy SEAL.  Like so many other cops on so many other shows.

     He and Danno have the standard, seen-so-often buddy cop relationship where they yell at each other and then love each other and then beat up suspects together.  And of course, because this is a show that popped up in 2010, it has to have the HOT, ass-kicking chick.  In this case Grace Park, who is an all-new character on the show.

     Much as I complain though, it’s hard not to be entertained by such a shiny, polished-until-it-gleams program.  It’s all gunfights and car chases and fighting with fists, and precious little police work, but as far as escapism goes, that’s pretty standard.  In the end, this first season felt familiar to me, and comfortable.  Not because it was anything like the original Hawaii Five-O (look to CSI: Miami for the similarities there), but because it’s just like NCIS: LA, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour and every other show out there.

Years:  1978, 1979
Genre:  TV series, Cop, Drama
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Jack Lord, James MacArthur, Kam Fong, Al Harrington
Creator:  Leonard Freeman
Run time:  19 hours, 51 minutes
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     Season Eleven of Hawaii Five-O was on television when I was an embryo.  Or a zygote.  So it’s odd for me to feel intense nostalgia for something I never experienced at the time when it would have actually been nostalgic.  But I guess it takes a really silly retread of something to create that feeling – having just watched the first season of the new Hawaii Five-O, I actually DO long for a simpler time.

     A time when Wo Fat was a cartoonish evildoer, a creepy Bond-like villain.  A time when the bikini girls were just gratuitous montage shots between scenes, rather than actual members of the cast.  A time when Chin Ho was just some guy in the police station, rather than a main character with a suspect back story.  And a time when McGarrett and Danno had to worry about mafia and punks and corporate killers, instead of serial killers and terrorists.

     Most of all though, I miss the realistic banter between McGarrett and Danno – banter that came easily and naturally between two men of the law who respected and liked each other, and came only occasionally when it fit.  So much better than the forced buddy-cop love-hate banter that has become a prerequisite for all cop shows of today.  Today, McGarrett and Danno fight over food, over the radio, over their driving, over everything.  In the 70s, they just solved crimes.  Oh, the good old days.

     Thankfully, as Paramount Home Entertainment releases the first season of the NEW Hawaii Five-O on DVD today, they are also releasing the eleventh season of the old Hawaii Five-O.  I think it’s clear which one I recommend more.

Year:   2010, 2011
Genre:  TV series, Crime, Drama
Country:  United States
Languages:  English
Starring:  Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Will Estes, Jennifer Esposito, Len Cariou, Amy Carlson, Nicholas Turturro
Creators:  Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     The one problem I have with Blue Bloods is how over-the-top American it is.  When the family gets together for their weekly dinner, and they discuss the subject matter of the day – which almost always relates to the case they were working on that day – it feels like a crappy episode of Crossfire or The View or one of any number of political pundit shows in the States.

     The rest of the show is uber-American too – the tough-guy, ends-justify-the-means attitude, the “rugged individualism”, the hero-cops and the flags in the background.  Sure, they try to temper that with their forced, awkward round-table discussions at dinner, but it’s pretty clear at all times just what the “right” answer is to all their debates.

     That being said, getting the negative stuff out of the way first, I do like the show.  Season One comes out September 13th from Paramount Home Entertainment, and the cast is the best thing about it.  Tom Selleck’s moustache oozes authenticity as the police commissioner.  Will Estes is excellent as his son, a new recruit to the police department and a beat cop.  Bridget Moynahan, as the New York assistant DA (and Selleck’s daughter) is lovely and perfect, and Donnie Wahlberg (the older brother, tough-guy rule-bending cop) is the best part of the show.

     Unfortunately, because this is New York City, and the show is so very American, a lot of the episodes have to deal with terrorist plots and terror cells and terrorism.  It still crackles along at a terrific pace, with just enough lulls for some Tom Selleck wisdom or some Bridget Moynahan moralizing.  And when the cases are more usual – abducted children and so forth – the show is truly excellent.

Year:   2010, 2011
Genre:  TV series, Lawyer, Drama
Country:  United States
Languages:  English
Starring:  Julianna Margulies, Archie Panjabi, Chris Noth, Matt Czuchry, Christine Baranski, Graham Phillips, Makenzie Vega, Josh Charles
Guest stars:  Alan Cumming, Titus Welliver, Sarah Silverman, Miranda Cosgrove, Michael J. Fox, Ken Leung, Jerry Stiller, Rita Wilson, America Ferrera, Lou Dobbs (as himself – of course), Fred Thompson 
Eye candy:  Margulies, Panjabi, Wilson, Silverman
Creators:  Robert King, Michelle King
Producers:  Tony Scott, Ridley Scott
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     I said of Season One of The Good Wife that it was a legal drama pretending to be something else.  In that case, I meant it pretended to be about this woman (Julianna Margulies) and her strained relationship with her philandering politician husband (Chris Noth), when in reality it was a good, solid, compelling legal drama.  The rest was just window dressing.

     In the second season, out September 13th from Paramount Home Entertainment, I am of a different opinion.  In the second season, the show is more about the relationship, Peter’s re-election bid, and the office politics than it is about the actual courtroom.

     Kalinda (Archie Panjabi) is relegated to a secondary, (fairly tedious) game of one-upmanship with the firm’s new investigator.  She is involved in a bombshell later in the season – although when you think about this “bombshell”, it should likely NOT have been as big a deal as it was…

     The season is kind of all over the place – the kids get involved with dad’s campaign and screw things up.  The firm is going to split, then they’re not, then they are.  Alicia is getting along better with her husband, then she isn’t, then the bombshell.  His campaign right-hand man is screwing things up for her and Will, who still may or may not get together.

     And in the middle of all this, some court cases.  Miranda Cosgrove (iCarly) shows up as a young music superstar accused of attempted murder, much like Miranda Cosgrove in real life.  Except for the attempted murder.  Michael J. Fox shows up as a cut-throat lawyer and steals the show every time he’s on screen, he’s fabulous.  Other great guest stars include Sarah Silverman, Ken Leung, and Lou Dobbs as himself sowing discord between the partners (especially the left-leaning Christine Baranski).

     In the end, it’s actually the guest stars who carry the bulk of the second season.  They’re good enough to keep it rolling nicely.  Well, Michael J. Fox, Fred Thompson, Miranda Cosgrove and Julianna Margulies who is as magnificent as ever.  I still like The Good Wife a lot, even though it’s quite a bit different for me than it was in Season One.  But just like that first season, I sat down and watched the entire DVD.  As I recommend you do too.

Year:  2011
Genre:  TV series, Crime, Drama
Country:  United States
Languages:  English
Starring:  Kristen Vangsness, Forest Whitaker, Janeane Garofalo, Michael Kelly, Beau Garrett, Matt Ryan
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     CBS really has no one to blame but themselves for the cancellation of Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior.  The only reason this show was canceled was that…it was created in the first place.  There was nowhere to go but down from there.  First off, they didn’t really bother creating a cool new title for the show.  Suspect Behavior is, after all, what Criminal Minds is all about.  They’re basically calling the show Criminal Minds: Criminal Minds.  Not that NCIS: LA or CSI: NY or CSI: Miami are that much more inventive, but at least they aren’t redundant.

     The thing is, I LIKE Suspect Behavior.  Yes, it’s exactly like all the other police procedurals out there, exactly like the original Criminal Minds.  But with Forest Whitaker, Janeane Garofalo and a very cool cast, it actually manages to be better at doing the exact same thing.  I think.

     Then again, it’s a moot point.  After all, the show WAS canceled, and all we will ever have is this one DVD volume that ends with Garofalo being kidnapped and Forest Whitaker about to blow some guy away.  I would call this a cliffhanger, but does anyone really think something crazy was going to happen?  They did plan to make a second season, which is why they would end with a cliffhanger.  So for the uber-fan(s) of this show, know this – Garofalo would have been saved, Whitaker would not have shot the guy, and Episode 2 would have been right back into more of the same.

     That, really, is the only real problem with Criminal Minds: Criminal Minds (aside from the title).  It’s more of the same.  In the second-last episode of the season, the team deals with a case of a murdered marine.  I found myself thinking – wait, that’s a marine!  He’s a navy guy!  Shouldn’t…NCIS be handling this?  Or, failing that, if they needed anti-terrorism experts and more explosions, NCIS: LA?

     And there it is.  CBS (formerly Columbia Broadcasting System) found they had a major hit with CSI (Crime Scene Investigation).  So they decided to spin it off into CSI: Miami (Crime Scene Investigation: Miami).  THAT show was an even BIGGER hit, so they spun off again into CSI: NY (Crime Scene Investigation: New York).  All this spawned a ton of video games, board games, action figures, backpacks, lunchboxes and CSI-themed children’s birthday parties.

     Of course, it was the acronym that was making these shows successful, so they moved on to NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service).  Soon, that one was a hit as well, so the spin-off had to come.  NCIS: LA (Naval Criminal Investigative Service: Los Angeles).  Soon, CBS may run out of cities.  Perhaps they already have, not wanting to brand their new spin-off Criminal Minds: Spokane.

     But that’s it – they have achieved critical mass.  The already-bloated prime time police procedural drama slate could not handle even one more spin-off, whether it was good or not.  Blue Bloods is out there too, taking up a little bit of CBS real estate with another cop show (but a new one, with a new idea, that amazingly doesn’t cover the exact same ground as all the others).  But once you’ve hit the limit – there it is.  CBS should have been tipped off when they couldn’t think of another city to put after the colon in the show’s title.

     So it’s done, and we have the one season, which I DID really like.  And it’s on DVD now from Paramount Home Entertainment, and that is where it will stay forever, consigned to the dustbin of Failed Spinoff Prime Time Police Investigative Procedurals.  Something tells me that dustbin will be very full, very soon.

Years:  2010, 2011
Genre:  TV series, Crime, Drama
Country:  United States
Languages:  English, French (dubbing of course)
Starring:  Thomas Gibson, Joe Mantegna, Matthew Gray Gubler, Shemar Moore, Kristen Vangsness, Paget Brewster, AJ Cook, Rachel Nichols, Jane Lynch
Creator:  Jeff Davis
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     I have only one complaint with Criminal Minds in this, the sixth season.  And that is “unsubs”.  First, they assume we’ve been watching the show forever, and therefore we understand the term.  Like CSI assuming we understand all about epitheleals and so forth.  Were I to just jump into the sixth season, this would annoy me. 

     Now, I am a veteran of a few seasons of Criminal Minds, so I DO know that an “unsub” is an “unkown subject” – the bad guy (or girl) they are chasing.  But I am still annoyed.  Because it’s such an overused word on the show, they continue to call the suspect an “unsub”, very often, even after they have figured out who it is, what their name is, and have put out an APB.  If it’s Jim Henson of Delaware, it’s no longer an “unsub”, right?

     OK.  Done with the complaints.  Otherwise, Criminal Minds is still a totally engrossing show that I can watch endlessly without getting tired of it.  The calm coolness of Thomas Gibson running the show, the I-can’t-quite-put-my-finger-on-it sexiness of Paget Brewster, the charmingly naive genius of Matthew Gray Gubler, the credible gravitas of Joe Mantegna, the wide-eyed hot-tempered earnestness of Shemar Moore, the silly wardrobe of Kristen Vangsness, and the badly underused (at least in Season 6) smoking hotness that is AJ Cook.  And yeah yeah, I get she was pregnant or something and will be back full-time for Season Seven.

     Filling in the hotness gap for Cook, however, is actress Rachel Nichols, who appears as the daughter of a serial killer who has now been added to the team.  I suspect that once Cook returns, there will be no more need for this much Hot though, and Nichols will be let go to return to movies (like all the sequels sure to come for Conan The Barbarian).

     I’m always impressed by how often the writers of shows like these can keep coming up with something new.  The old serial killer with alzheimer’s, the pedophile living in the mountains off the Appalachian Trail, the guy who burns his victims alive on Hallowe’en, it all works, and it all seems fresh.  That, to me, is the most remarkable thing about the sixth season of Criminal Minds, on DVD September 6th from Paramount Home Entertainment.