More Season Finales...

Here are some of the other season finales that I was too caught up in other stuff to write about when they actually finished. Thoughts and comments are welcome, as always.

Castle

There have been TONS of shows were the main source of ongoing dramatic tension is the sexual tension between the two leads. And almost ALL of them screw up that seemingly essential tension by either mishandling how the two leads get together (i.e. Moonlighting) or by NEVER getting the leads together (i.e. Bones, as of this post). So far, Castle has avoided most of the pitfalls of its predecessors and has handled the relationship between Castle & Beckett exceedingly well. Using believable delays grounded in the character flaws of each person, but keeping enough of those "spark" moments around that the tension never fades away.

The season 2 finale for Castle is another example of how deftly that tension is handled. For two seasons, we've watched Castle go from lustfully smitten to actually romantically interested in Beckett in small increments. At the same time, Beckett has increasingly warmed to Castle as her pre-conceived notions of the author that got her through her mother's death were replaced with the startlingly immature, yet endearing reality.

Now at the end of season 2, Beckett seemed ready to admit some type of attraction for Castle, and was undone by all the work she had put in denying the possibility of that attraction. Again, a completely believable delay. One, that has me wondering what the consequences are going to be for the relationship. I hope that Beckett gets a bit of the same frustration/pain that Castle felt as she watches Castle and the ex-wife together for a little while.

But, I also think that Castle & Beckett should get together in Season 3, either near the middle of the season (like just before the Christmas break) or towards the end of season 3. If done properly, it wouldn't hurt the show, it would ADD to the comedic madness as Beckett has to deal with entering deeper into Castle's semi-upper class world, while Castle has to deal with the real possibility of Beckett possibly dying in the line of duty. That plus the normal relationship issues, exacerbated by both of their larger than life personalities, could fuel the through the end of season 4!

CSI

While I LOVED the addition of Dr. Ray Langston to the CSI team, I never liked the "Dr. Jekyll" storyline, it always came across as a little writer's trick to get the audience to respond to Langston's character. He already had one serial killer in his back story, why not expand on THAT one? Why do you need to add ANOTHER one that just happens to kill with medical expertise, right when a medical doctor was added to CSI?

That's why I LOVED how this season ended. I loved the inclusion of the more interesting killer, and how he related to Langston. I'm dying to see how the next season unfolds!!

The Mentalist

The most compelling part of this finale was Red John. And he was in the episode for like a minute and a half. As much as I enjoyed Patrick Jane's games, I was looking forward to seeing Red John take glorious retribution upon those who would defile his work.

My hope for the next season is that they either introduce a NEW serial killer for the season, or spend MORE time on Red John. Enough of this filler stuff. Let's get to some real challenges!

House

After six seasons, House and Cuddy get together, and frankly, I'm not sure that I like that. Aside from the way it was written, which made it seem more like an afterthought to the ep, I'm of the opinion that Cuddy isn't a good match for House. I'm not denying that there is chemistry between them, but House's personality can too easily overwhelm Cuddy. It's happened so often on the show, it's become part of the formula of the show.

In season 2, when House's ex, Stacy, was on the show, things worked between them, because she could return fire and put him back in his place. At times, she could do it effortlessly, other times it was more problematic for her, but she was ALWAYS able to do that. She was always capable of matching House's strength of personality.

To date, Cuddy hasn't come anywhere close to doing being able to match wits, or even attitude with House which makes this ending feel more like Cuddy giving in to what House wants again, than her actually having any feelings for him. I know, I know the events of the episode are, in fact, the reverse, but them being together still didn't work.

It seems like the producers of the show are trying to make House a nicer, more relatable person. That scene with House and the psychologist and the "I want to be happy!!" is a harbinger of that. So is House and Cuddy getting together. I hope that next season will not see House upbeat & happy, but I'm not so sure that it won't.

Lie To Me... Again...

Tonight, a show I thought had gone the way of the dodo bird, returned to the air. The show is called "Lie To Me". It's about an agency that specializes in deception detection, or how to spot lies, and their efforts assisting law enforcement & other government agencies in exposing the truth. Based on the actual scientific discoveries of Paul Ekman, the premise of the show is that whenever a human being lies, the body unconsciously signals that lie. If you can read the signals, you can tell if someone's lying or not.

Tonight's ep was the one episode I was TRULY hoping they would make. I've always wondered how the science they use in the show would work against a psychopath. You know, a dyed-in-the-wool killer. Given the nature of the show, the endgame of each ep can be fairly predictable, but the journey there usually holds one or two surprise turns for me. This ep was no different. I knew that Lightman (main character of the show, played by Tim Roth) would be running game, and that the hammer would most likely fall on him, but to take the game to the point of withstanding torture... It was an amazing thing to see.

In reading on the inevitable buzz about Lie To Me's return, I did see a remarkable amount of comparisons to "The Mentalist". While I do like "The Mentalist", I think it's unfair to compare the two programs. The basis of "Lie To Me" is the detection of lies through small unconscious body gestures. The signals that contradict what the person is saying. It's about dichotomy between the body and the mind, and figuring out what the biology says about our psychology. That study and interpretation is what makes episodes like the one tonight so intriguing. It's an example of scientific inquiry into a mind that is, for lack of a better term, an aberration. "The Mentalist" is more focussed on law enforcement using unorthodox tactics, like Lethal Weapon, where "Lie To Me" is more about cutting edge behavioral science proving to be useful for law enforcement, like cutting edge mathematics was useful in the show "Numb3rs".

If you haven't watched the show, dear readers, please tune in and check out "Lie To Me", it airs Mondays on FOX. It'll be a good time