Pike Ludwell

So, re: the CHOICE Gibson made at the end: Does Katie have some competition now from Gibson? After all, Spector is more handsome than that new detective Gibson brought in and laid. So the theme is "women go nuts over super handsome men?" Doubtful I'll watch next season. This is either written by men who have no clue, or women with 13 year old boy-crazy sensibilities!

The police are shown as amazingly inept over and over, so much it is becoming annoying. That officer who fell through the ceiling - what an amazing doofus. And they didn't have a warrant to search the house, only to plant bugging devices? WTF?? They should have had papers allowing them to virtually "own" that house. There was sufficient evidence at that point. This show is dragging on too long and starting to annoy me. They should have ended at the end of the first season (5 episodes max), and started on a new murder this season. The basic theme of this show seems to be: how a bungling police department made up of a bunch of clowns goes about capturing a demented serial killer, who, even though demented and sick as hell outwits them at every step, always gets his way, and women all just melt at his feet because he is so good looking. And the theme that if a guy is good looking enough women totally melt before him ... that is getting annoying as hell.

Just finished season 1, ep. 3 and for the most part am enjoying it. The fact that the season is just just 5 episodes is a plus to me. I hate seeing these sort of murder thrillers dragged out for 13 episodes like some series, with way too much filler and too slow a pace.

Too bad about Paradise Cove. All this because Jim wreaked such havoc! Seriously, it is distressing to see what was once mostly a situation of great freedom and tolerance turn into something like that. But, right on the ocean like that, it was bound to happen.

"Paradise Cove" and "Nice Guys Finish Dead" (The Goodhues) are some of the best episodes of the whole series. Paradise Cove really got real about the way neighbors would take someone like Rockford -- I always wondered why he wasn't considered a problem. Horrible, ugly trailer, cheapening the neighborhood's appearance. Frequent gunfire around the trailer. Frequent suspicious guys lurking around the area because of Jim. Frequent fights. Kidnappings. Bombing of the trailer. Frequent visits by the police. Paradise Cove gets into that neighborhood reality - an interesting departure from previous seasons.

Something about the Rockford episodes ... I have a hard time remembering the plots for more than about a year. So I don't fret about seeing the final episode. In year or two I'll rewatch the whole series again, and enjoy it almost as if new.

Sean Hannity rearing his head re: Homeland. He says the creators want to drop the theme of "Islamic terrorism" and focus elsewhere next season. Alex Gansa is considering the storyline shift for creative reasons and to avoid repetition. The show has focused on mid-east terrorists since it began in 2011. Hannity apparently thinks this is caving to the terrorists.

Seems like her consistent extreme befuddlement (until that reporter's question allowed her to get angy) would have been the story of the debate. She even came across worse than Jan Brewer did in that 2010 debate, and that's hard to do! But Brewer went on to win, so I suppose Alicia still winning is not too bizarre a storyline.

Found out yesterday that Chris Matthews of MSNBC will be the debate moderator in this episode. Just some advance notice.

That would be fine with me, but I'd be surprised if broadcast TV went that route with a popular character (Kalinda). Too many people are absolutely mortified by the very idea of someone killing an absolutely hideous, murderous person. So if he's killed it won't be by a main character, and more than likely his comeuppance would be through a fair trial. I'd love to see more of Kalinda standing up to him like she did when she threatened to sic child services on him. Instead she's reverted back to respectfully as possible calling him sir and seeming totally subservient to him.

Is Cary really finally through with the legal problems? I understand that the dismissal "with prejudice" means he cannot be prosecuted again, but does that hold true even if the evidence which led directly to the dismissal is proven to be a total fraud arising from defense misconduct?

OK. Got it. Interesting they were acting till the end like it was get the plea withdrawn or it's at least 2 years (if good behavior) in prison. I guess the writers didn't want to get bogged down on procedure, but seems like strong evidence there that could have gotten Cary out much much faster than 2 years, with new trial or habeas corpus, and a sane, just judge.

This is a case where, to use Dickens language: "the law is an ass". As Alicia said, innocent people sometimes plead guilty to avoid harsher sentences they think are otherwise inevitable. If after pleading guilty, evidence is found exculpating the person, but no prosecutorial misconduct, to say:"nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah ... it's the first thing you said that counts and you cannot change your plea!!" ... well, that's just totally idiotic. If new evidence is found totally showing the defendant innocent, he should be able to withdraw the plea whether or not there was prosecutorial misconduct, which is contrary to what was stated on the show as the rule ("only if misconduct is shown!").

She'll know how to just "disappear", ala Walter White in Breaking Bad - or maybe a witness protection thing, but I think she's better off doing it on her own. And she'll be able to do it in better style than WW's living in a rundown shack in NH. She needs to be planning this right now, or some sort of strategy, or she is a sitting duck.

One of my favorite things about seasons 5 and 6 in particular was some of the supporting characters. Huell, of course. The woman who worked for Saul. The nurse who tended to Hector and got him to spell out the words. I wonder if these folks are comedians in real life, because they all had that sort of humorous vibe to them. They were cast perfectly. I'm sure Huell will be in Better Call Saul. I hope that woman who assists Saul is also, and they show a lot more of that humorous interaction between the two.

Even the opening was boring. I guess lots of gunfire and rapid fire editing are supposed to make it interesting enough that they can go on and on and on with the scene. Didn't work. I view the lengthy opening as filler. And then we meet the characters .... I tried, but gave up after 10 minutes. waste of time.

I think Noah came out worse in the situations you mention. Viewing as a bad thing, money that could be very helpful to his family? Noah has personal issues in that regard, apparently. His hostility to that seemed neurotic. And I think he was too eager to jump to conclusions against his daughter and became too hot-headed -- more personal issues and neurotic tendencies apparently. hear the daughter out, keep a cool head, listen to different points of view. Talk it out reasonably? Nope. He went nuts.

I'm not a big fan of Dom. W. "The Wire" was good more in spite of him than because of him. He strikes me as in a similar boat to Woody Harrelson (and Woody's True Detective deal). His contract for this show was because he is just about aged totally out of the sex appeal phase, so he takes a contract guaranteeing sex scenes with a woman 14 years younger, and lots of opportunities to try to preserve his image as a sex appeal guy, which he psychologically cannot let go yet. The whole risky, attraction at first sight, thing might be more plausible if they'd used an actor closer to her age. I can't believe an attractive young woman like that would get involved so quickly like that, in such a risky situation, with a man 14 years older, who looks it, and who has the baggage of a family travelling with him. It's all a gift setup for the actor, DW. Also, the writers just are not presenting Noah as an intelligent enough guy to be a good, publishable novelist. He seems a rather dim bulb to me. But, hey, it's all beefing up DW's image!!

I would have loved to see the camera panning through the wedding guests. One shady looking P.I. and con artist type after another (like in the funeral scenes in one or two episodes). As to Jim and all the young beautiful women, and him with no money and living in the dumpiest trailer imaginable. I guess we were supposed suspend disbelief. After all, this was James Garner for Pete's sake!! And so getting any woman he wanted just by the force of his looks and personality was to be assumed!

This season seems weak so far. The writers are making too many of the characters into victims or idiots. E.g. there was Diane last week very stupidly (and out of character) opening that very strange file, which brought in the virus. Carey is supposed to be a highly intelligent, tough character, but just the opposite this season. I despise seeing Kalinda being pushed around by Bishop. I'm sick of his very "polite" (LOL), constant intimidation of her. Writers have needed to make this more into a chess game. Instead of just always relenting to Bishop, have her planning her next, cunning, creative move. Make her the more clever one, and make Bishop into the worried victim. Right now the writers are giving him almost superhuman intelligence and awareness, and making Kalinda into a total victim --- that's not the way that character is supposed to be! The ending of the episode was excellent - a glimmer of hope that things will turn around! I hope she has a plan, and that wasn't just an isolated whim!

"But what really preserves him is the show’s illusory continuity, fundamental to the form of episodic television. There are recurring characters and very occasional references to past events, but it’s as if the show and its characters were created anew each time the credits roll." Interesting article. I definitely got the feeling of "creation anew" for each show, in the sense of some degree of lack of continuity. Seemed really true with respect to his past romances. He nearly got married in the past so many times I lost count, to an unrealistic degree it seemed to me, and then he had to really struggle for years to get over the woman. Seems like there must have been so much of that, his life must have been one big sob story. And then there's all the unsavory things he'd done in the past. Some episodes emphasized that though he went to prison, in fact he was innocent and later pardoned. So he's always been a good guy, right? Then in other episodes we learn he'd been hugely active in con games. He'd apparently done every con game in the book and had numerous connections to other con artists. Someone pointed out (I think it was on this thread) that these sorts of playing a little fast and loose with the story was common back in those days because there was no means for re-watching or binge watching and so lack of continuity was less noticeable. So the writers threw in whatever (within reason) advanced the plot without much concern for continuity.

I'm a long time Rockford fan. When James Garner died several months ago I decided to re-watch the whole 6 seasons. I finished about a week ago, and am undergoing withdrawal. The good news is that some of the plots are so convoluted I had little idea what the heck was going on, so I have some to re-watch. The Rockford character is the main appeal, together with the interactions with the other regulars: Rocky, Becker, Angel. Yes, I like the Angel character, though I despise him as a person. Why is Rockford good friends with him? Probably the same reason Wally's best friend was Eddy Haskel and Ward's was Mr. Rutherford -- whatever that reason is. A good thing about the 5th and 6th seasons was they spent a lot more time on character development and dialog scenes. There are a lot more extended scenes between Jim and Rocky than in the previous seasons. Also in those seasons, there is a distinct difference in the writing, which I didn't like at first, but at some point I realized it was in fact better writing across the board. Fortunately there's Google now and I found myself Googling one reference after another in the later episodes. The writers went to town with obscure references - largely to semi-obscure 30s and 40s actors, but some other folks as well. Among those I Googled: Rondo Hatton, Irene Rich, Perle Mesta ... so many others. I recently read "Cannery Row" and I see a similarity slightly with Rockford: A character who really didn't give a flip about having lots of money ... he just wanted to enjoy life, with simple pleasures. A running gag early on, anyway, was how clients always weaseled out of paying him. He never seemed to care that much. A totally non-pretentious guy. Lived in the most run down trailer imaginable. But it had all the comforts, and was right on the beach so he could fish when he wanted. Some of my least favorite episodes were the ones with Rita - she was an annoying character. Some of my favorites were those with Simon Oakland, who played PI Vern St. Cloud. (Also great in Kolchak). The Goodhue Awards episode was excellent. An amazingly funny guy. I would laugh almost just from looking at him. What a character.

"Poor Cary is stuck between a rock and a gangster." If he chose to do something (legally) anonymously that would punish the officers, Kalinda could help and they could figure out a stealthy way. The options are there, just takes a little creativity. E.g., learn one is cheating on his wife and send anonymous pictures. Maybe there are better examples that could be done legally and secretly. But as I said, that's not a direction this show goes for storylines. My view on this is solid, and that's all I'm saying on the matter.

From that mix of events a good attorney could find something that would be at least arguably actionable and that could mess up the officers' lives for a while. At least get their names in the news and mess with their reputations. If that doesn't work, have Kalinda look into their private lives and do something legal to mess them up from that perspective. But that's not a direction this show tends to go, and it's not going to happen. Cops acting like that just angers me greatly. Cary will likely take a more of a forgive and forget approach, which might be the best course anyway.

He can find out the names. There are processes for that, at least for the arresting officers and the officer at the station when his arm was chained high to the wall for, what? 5 hours? (something like that)..