TV Review: The Blacklist - "Monarch Douglas Bank"

  
The Blacklist - "Monarch Douglas Bank" (2x02) NBC, Mondays, 10 p.m.

At the end of season one of "The Blacklist," we learned that everything Raymond Reddington had done to that point was part of a greater "war" between himself and the mysterious Berlin. As simply a name, Berlin was seemingly all powerful, with legions of henchmen around the world as part of a network that could actually rival Red's power and influence.

The problem with a villain who is only a name--a threat in the dark--is that sooner or later, you have to reveal the villain, give him a face. And no matter how good a performance you get from the man or woman you cast as your villain, he or she will never live up to the anticipation.

Which may be the problem facing "The Blacklist" early on in season two. Berlin has a face, played admirably by Peter Stormare. Taking nothing away from Stormare, however, Berlin simply isn't as affective a villain when we see him each week, even if he's sending pieces of Red's kidnapped wife back to him in the mail.

I will say that "Monarch Douglas Bank" is a pretty solid episode, without the giant plot holes we tend to find ourselves in during "case of the week" episodes, but it also feels like a prediction of rougher seas ahead if the writers aren't careful.

TV Review: Gotham - "Selina Kyle"

Gotham - "Selina Kyle" (1x02) FOX, Mondays, 8 p.m.


The first question facing Fox's new show "Gotham" was whether it could it recreate the gritty, dark atmosphere of a pre-Batman Gotham City. The pilot episode proved it could, filling it with a wide range of characters from the some 80 years of comic book lore.

The second question was whether the show could continue the momentum established in the pilot. "Selina Kyle" proves it can do that as well.

Building off the story lines set up in the pilot, the episode also introduces us to a case of the week revolving a pair of child abductors (Frank Whaley and Lili Taylor), stealing homeless kids off the streets of Gotham.

Of course Jim and Harvey get the case, bringing them back into the territory of Fish Mooney, who almost had them killed last week. The case also puts Jim in contact with young Selina Kyle (or Cat as she preferred to be called), which I'm sure is a big step in his pursuit of the Waynes' murderer(s).

The B-story follows the repercussions of Oswald Cobblepot's supposed death at the end of the pilot, with Oswald trying to land on his feet outside the city, while mob boss Carmine Falcone confronts Mooney about her aborted coup attempt.

TV Review: Person of Interest - "Panopticon"

Person of Interest - "Panopticon" (4x01) CBS, Tuesdays, 10 p.m. 

The third season of "Person of Interest" was one of the best overall seasons of network television I've seen in quite awhile, culminating in a jaw-dropping finale that left our heroes on the run, fighting to survive in a world much altered.

The finale promised to forever change the dynamic of the show, leaving John (Jim Caviezel), Harold (Michael Emerson), Shaw (Sarah Shahi) and Root (Amy Acker) in new identities to protect themselves from the omnipresent Samaritan.

We don't a lot of time to see our heroes in their new mundane roles in the premiere, however, because the Machine, after apparently some time in silence, gives them a new number: the owner of a electronics repair shop who is having some serious problems with a gang.

You have to give the writers credit for playing with a formula that has brought in tons of viewers, but that's one of things that keeps me coming back for more. This is one of those rare shows that grows and evolves over the course of each season. The same can be said for the characters.

TV Review: The Blacklist - "Lord Baltimore"

The Blacklist - "Lord Baltimore" (2x01) NBC, Mondays, 10 p.m.

When "The Blacklist" premiered last year, a friend and I compared it to ABC's "Agents of SHIELD," both agreeing that it had better writing and more fleshed out characters than the comic book tie-in show. By the end of their respective seasons, however, my opinion had pretty much been flipped. Aside from Raymond "Red" Reddington (played spectacularly by James Spader), "The Blacklist" seemed populated by bland characters who would proceed each week to do so pretty stupid things to help service the plot.

James Spader as Red.

Sadly it seemed like there was one writer tasked with Reddington, who wrote his dialogue in seclusion, while the rest of the staff created poorly thought out scenarios to throw our characters in. Without being too harsh, by the end of the season, I began referring to "The Blacklist" as the worst written show I liked to watch.

So suffice to say, I came into the season two premiere, "Lord Baltimore," with hopes for a brighter future. And while it seems like things are in motion for a compelling long-term storyline as Red and the FBI continue to search for the mysterious Berlin, the case of the week once again seemed a bit too outlandish and not terribly well thought out.

TV Review: NCIS - "Twenty Klicks"

NCIS - "Twenty Klicks" (12x01) CBS, Tuesdays, 8 p.m.

Venerable crime procedural and ratings behemoth "NCIS" returns for its 12th season and for only the second time during its long run, its premiere doesn't serve as a continuation of a spring-fed cliffhanger. Instead, last season ended with a heartfelt send-off of Jackson Gibbs as well as actor Ralph Waite.

With the ability to start afresh this season, the premiere gives us an action-packed episode with shot-down helicopters, gun fights and wilderness survival. It also begins what appears to be the new ongoing storyline, but more about that in the spoiler section.

This was a solid episode, with much of it devoted to Gibbs and McGee as they travel to Russia to pick up "IT Kevin" (Ethan Rains), who seems sure he's being followed. Of course, he's not paranoid if people are really willing to shoot them out of the sky over the wooded frontier on the Russian/Finland border, now is he?

TV Review: NCIS: New Orleans - "Musician Heal Thyself"

NCIS: New Orleans - "Musician Heal Thyself" (1x01) CBS, Tuesdays, 9 p.m.

So the venerable "NCIS" begot a second child, one which is once again set in a town without a Navy base (as of 2011), although there is a joint reserve command nearby.

The show's primary cast was introduced just like members of "NCIS: LA" were, with a two-episode backdoor pilot last spring in the mothership "NCIS." That episode showed the promise of the setting (who can complain about New Orleans?) as well as the potential drawbacks (lead actor Scott Bakula's sometimes horrendous, sometimes absent Cajun accent).

Compared to the backdoor pilot, "Musician Heal Thyself" feels more settled, as if the writers have a better idea of just what they want to do with this new show. It already feels more like "NCIS" than "LA," with special agents investigating what appears at first to be a simple murder. This is a positive in some regards (I've always enjoyed the original flavor more than the west-coast version), but the writers are going to need more than a colorful setting to give this show its own feel.

Bakula is honestly one of the main draws for me to the new show, as with everything else I'm trying to catch this season, another generic procedural wouldn't really be a high priority otherwise. Thankfully, it seems his accent as Special Agent Dwayne Pride has been toned down since last spring, and I'd rather imagine him using a good accent than continue hearing him use a bad one. (Just compare his voice in the episode to his voice-over at the end saying "Stay tuned for scenes from our next episode.")

Of the other main cast members, Lucas Black's Special Agent Christopher LaSalle is my favorite so far, since he at least feels like a fully realized character, even if we still know nothing about him. Meanwhile, actress Zoe McLellan (who we're supposed to forget had a longstanding role in "NCIS" godfather, "JAG") plays the outside role pretty well as Special Agent Merri Brody, although her penchant for getting a goofy smile at random moments was a bit off-putting.

TV Review: Scorpion - "Pilot"

Scorpion - "Pilot" (1x01) CBS, Mondays, 9 p.m.

If you combined "The Big Bang Theory" and "Numb3rs," you would get the new CBS crime procedural "Scorpion," which features a group of super geniuses who will presumably stop terrorist attacks or solve bank robberies and the like on a weekly basis.

Now I'm a fan of both "The Big Bang Theory" and late, great "Numb3rs," so this one was pretty high on my list of potential new shows to pick up this season. Lead Eleyes Gabel, who plays hacker extraordinaire Walter O'Brien, even looks a bit like David Krumholtz, who in turn played math genius Charlie Eppes for six season on "Numb3rs."

The question early on with that show was just how many crimes could the FBI solve with math? Turns out quite a lot, even if they stretched the premise on more than one occasion.

Here we have four geniuses, with human behavior specialist Toby Curtis (Eddie Kaye Thomas), electronics expert Happy Quinn (Jadyn Wong), math savant Sylvester Dodd (Ari Stidham) and Walter.

When we first meet this group, they are working with Walter performing mundane jobs to support themselves in a world in which they struggle to function. Along comes Government Agent Cabe Gallo (the always wonderful Robert Patrick) to give them a mission of utmost importance, saving around 20,000 people flying on some 70 airliners trapped in the sky without communication after a software patch shuts down air traffic control in the region.

Needing some stable WIFI, the action moves to a diner, where Walter installed a new system earlier in the episode, putting him and his friends in contact with waitress Paige Dineen (Katharaine McPhee) and her son Ralph (Riley B. Smith). What should be a simple hack and software switch job grows increasingly difficult through a terribly inconvenient setbacks.

TV Review: Gotham - "Pilot"

NOTE: This and other TV reviews will not be a straight-up recap, as I'm not interested in simply recounting the episode verbatim. Instead, I will discuss events which occur in each episode, providing my opinion of that week's installment as well as the show as a whole. Each review will be separated into two parts, the first without spoilers and the second with. I hope you enjoy.

Gotham - "Pilot" (1x01) FOX, Mondays, 8 p.m.


Of all of the new shows set to debut this fall, FOX's "Gotham" interested me the most. It doesn't hurt that Batman has always been one of my favorite comic book characters. Christopher Nolan left an indelible mark on the franchise with his "Dark Knight" trilogy, so any new version, even on television, has a high bar to meet. Fortunately, at least through the first episode, "Gotham" does quite well.

Set in the fictional city of Gotham made famous by nearly a century of "Batman" comics, the series is striving to do something different. Instead of depicting the brutal deaths of Martha and Thomas Wayne, who leave behind a scarred young boy in Bruce Wayne, only to then quickly time jump forward some 15 years to the birth of the Caped Crusader, "Gotham" stays put after the couple's murder in a dirty alley.

Centering on Gotham newcomer, Det. James Gordon (Ben McKenzie, "Southland"), the pilot episode follows him as he discovers the seedier side of his adopted city, including that of his partner, Det. Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue, "Sons of Anarchy").

During their pursuit of the Waynes' murder, we come across mobster Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith), a young Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova), an equally young Ivy Pepper (Clare Foley), forensic scientist Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith), mob underling Oswalt Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) and even major crime detective Renee Montoya (Victoria Cartagena).

Fans of the comics, or the various film incarnations, will recognize most, if not all of those names, Fish Mooney being the most obscure. Carmine Falcone (John Doman) also plays an important role in the pilot episode.

Rising from the ashes

Like the Phoenix, Marquee Entertainment is rising from the ashes one more.

This blog had seen a number of incarnations over the years, so I'm not going to say that this time will be any more successful than the last time. While in the past I concentrated mostly on entertainment news items pertaining mostly to movies but also to television, I'm going to try to stick more to commentary and reviews this go around.

Since my movie reviews are already published weekly, and now available in truncated form online here, I'm going to concentrate more on television reviews, if for no other reason than to make use of the time I spend watching TV.

If my any chance someone scrolls back through this blog far enough to see this post, let me tell a little about myself. I have been a published movie critic for the past eight years.

I hope you enjoy this blog.