Hooray for ratings season!
Sep. 24th, 2009 08:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eleanorjaneOh TV, how I've missed you. *hugs* I mean, I hate the Leverage and Burn Notice hiatus, but it's so good to have Castle and NCIS back.
Thoughts! (Cut for spoilers.)
Leverage 2.09: I really liked this episode. I find it hard to get all worked up about Sophie's fate when we all know Gina Bellman's just off having a baby, but Parker's concern was adorable.
I talked about the episode earlier but one other thing occurred to me: I really like the fact that the first role we see Tara Cole playing is a buttoned-up lawyer; she's attractive, but not vamping anyone.
Although Sophie's meant to be a talented grifter, almost all we ever see her do is play the sex symbol; her role as a business consultant or athlete or whatever is almost always secondary to her bedroom eyes and flirty schmoozing of the bad guy or bad guy's trusted minion. This has bugged me for a while, and I like the fact that they broke that mold with Tara.
*
Castle 2.01: I have missed this show SO MUCH. It rides entirely on Nathan Fillion's smirk, charm and banter; thankfully he's got plenty of all of them, plus plenty of chemistry with Stana Katic (who, oh my god, looks damn good this season).
One big thing rang false for me -- Beckett just didn't seem that pissed at Castle. I mean, she seemed upset about him breaking her trust, but when she wasn't actively thinking about it, she still interacted with him in the same ways. From a Doylist standpoint, it makes sense; there's no way you could credibly resume the partnership for the rest of the season if she was so boiling mad she wouldn't talk to him. From a Watsonian perspective it rings a little false; if it's that big a deal to her, why is she not more angry at him? I fanwanked it away as kind of implying that she's not actually furious at him; she's mad that he broke his word and her trust, but she's sticking to her guns mostly because she's damn stubborn when it comes to Castle (and she knows that, as Harriet Vane once said about Peter Wimsey, "if I once gave way to Peter, I should go up like straw" - and ahahaha, holy shit, Castle & Beckett are Vane and Wimsey for the modern era, they so are).
That said, I did like the scene where he gets it; where he understands exactly what he did wrong and stops trying to justify it. He is, after all, a good guy, albeit one with all the restraint and dignity of a Labrador puppy. And although it surprised me at the time, I can see why Beckett takes him back after that; she _wants_ to work with him again, she clearly enjoys it, and I think to a certain extent cutting off their partnership was as much a matter of standing on principle as being furious with him, and his unreserved apology gives her the ability to accept it and move on.
Also, Esposito and Ryan are so married.
*
NCIS 7.01: And then there was NCIS!
I like the storytelling premise of this episode, via flashbacks in the interrogation process, but I have to say it felt a bit "recappy for the new viewer" - but I guess every show has to do that to a certain extent, and I remember hearing they wanted to make this season more accessible to new/casual viewers.
I liked the scenes of interviewing new team members, but honestly, if Tony really acted that way he'd have so many sexual harrassment charges he'd be drummed out of the job. Still, I like his gradual decline as he finds it harder and harder to deal with Ziva's absence.
I do think it's a shame that McGee had nothing to do other than lie on the ground and look dead for most of the episode, but I'm glad to see he's looking healthier and fitter this season, and I liked his flashback scenes - he makes a nice dignified, sensible foil for Tony's various eccentricities.
I'll be interested to see where Ziva goes from here. They haven't resolved the issue yet of where she's actually going to be; just because NCIS rescued her doesn't mean she's going to be working for or with them again (although let's face it, it does, because she's on the show) and she's clearly fairly messed up emotionally (as one would be, after that).
All in all, a good season opener.
*
Next in the viewing pile - NCIS:LA. (I am disappointed to see all the promo images seem to be LL Cool J + Chris O'Donnell, rather than team-centric, but I haven't seen the actual ep yet, so.)
Thoughts! (Cut for spoilers.)
Leverage 2.09: I really liked this episode. I find it hard to get all worked up about Sophie's fate when we all know Gina Bellman's just off having a baby, but Parker's concern was adorable.
I talked about the episode earlier but one other thing occurred to me: I really like the fact that the first role we see Tara Cole playing is a buttoned-up lawyer; she's attractive, but not vamping anyone.
Although Sophie's meant to be a talented grifter, almost all we ever see her do is play the sex symbol; her role as a business consultant or athlete or whatever is almost always secondary to her bedroom eyes and flirty schmoozing of the bad guy or bad guy's trusted minion. This has bugged me for a while, and I like the fact that they broke that mold with Tara.
*
Castle 2.01: I have missed this show SO MUCH. It rides entirely on Nathan Fillion's smirk, charm and banter; thankfully he's got plenty of all of them, plus plenty of chemistry with Stana Katic (who, oh my god, looks damn good this season).
One big thing rang false for me -- Beckett just didn't seem that pissed at Castle. I mean, she seemed upset about him breaking her trust, but when she wasn't actively thinking about it, she still interacted with him in the same ways. From a Doylist standpoint, it makes sense; there's no way you could credibly resume the partnership for the rest of the season if she was so boiling mad she wouldn't talk to him. From a Watsonian perspective it rings a little false; if it's that big a deal to her, why is she not more angry at him? I fanwanked it away as kind of implying that she's not actually furious at him; she's mad that he broke his word and her trust, but she's sticking to her guns mostly because she's damn stubborn when it comes to Castle (and she knows that, as Harriet Vane once said about Peter Wimsey, "if I once gave way to Peter, I should go up like straw" - and ahahaha, holy shit, Castle & Beckett are Vane and Wimsey for the modern era, they so are).
That said, I did like the scene where he gets it; where he understands exactly what he did wrong and stops trying to justify it. He is, after all, a good guy, albeit one with all the restraint and dignity of a Labrador puppy. And although it surprised me at the time, I can see why Beckett takes him back after that; she _wants_ to work with him again, she clearly enjoys it, and I think to a certain extent cutting off their partnership was as much a matter of standing on principle as being furious with him, and his unreserved apology gives her the ability to accept it and move on.
Also, Esposito and Ryan are so married.
*
NCIS 7.01: And then there was NCIS!
I like the storytelling premise of this episode, via flashbacks in the interrogation process, but I have to say it felt a bit "recappy for the new viewer" - but I guess every show has to do that to a certain extent, and I remember hearing they wanted to make this season more accessible to new/casual viewers.
I liked the scenes of interviewing new team members, but honestly, if Tony really acted that way he'd have so many sexual harrassment charges he'd be drummed out of the job. Still, I like his gradual decline as he finds it harder and harder to deal with Ziva's absence.
I do think it's a shame that McGee had nothing to do other than lie on the ground and look dead for most of the episode, but I'm glad to see he's looking healthier and fitter this season, and I liked his flashback scenes - he makes a nice dignified, sensible foil for Tony's various eccentricities.
I'll be interested to see where Ziva goes from here. They haven't resolved the issue yet of where she's actually going to be; just because NCIS rescued her doesn't mean she's going to be working for or with them again (although let's face it, it does, because she's on the show) and she's clearly fairly messed up emotionally (as one would be, after that).
All in all, a good season opener.
*
Next in the viewing pile - NCIS:LA. (I am disappointed to see all the promo images seem to be LL Cool J + Chris O'Donnell, rather than team-centric, but I haven't seen the actual ep yet, so.)
