Views and Reviews (What I've been Watching)
What I've been watching, and what I've been fannish about lately--Foyle's War, Primeval, and Criminal Minds.
Foyle's War
The 2010 series consisted of three nice Foyle stories, fun without being terribly memorable. It was nice to see Milner as the boss, and rather botching it. Foyle sets him straight. He's not nice about it, but that's Foyle. He's the most strict with those he cares for. Milner grows into his job in these 3 stories and that's nice to see. Sam's ending was more problematic. I'm glad she found a love and life, but honestly? I can't really imagine our Sam as a politician's wife. Maybe if Adam stays local, it would work. Sam would be great at helping out constituents, although her basic blunt honesty doesn't strike me as a lasting political asset. Maybe it's different in the UK.
The last story was the best I think but it wasn't a series ender. That honor still belongs to All Clear, which ended where it should have ended. When the war was over, so was Foyle's War.
Primeval
I don't know how the new series will go with replacement characters, although Primeval has survived turnover before. It happens too quickly and too often, mind you. It's a good family show, even when it gets a bit bloody. That's when hiding your eyes works for #2. Dinosaurs, time travel, hot scientists...Primeval has it all. There are complex relationships, tragic love affairs, a cute flying dino, and did I mention the hot scientists??
The snark is heavy, which doesn't hurt. It doesn't always make sense and the time travel paradoxes aren't explored nearly enough. My favorite thing about Primeval is the sheer joy of discovery that our heroes evince when confronted with the marvels the anomalies let them see and experience. It reminds me of the best scene in Jurassic Park, when Sam Neill falls to his knees in rapture at the sight of living dinosaurs. Primeval never lets the danger and the horror get in the way of the joy.
Criminal Minds
I know there's some issue with the number and portrayal of female victims in this show based on the BAU or Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI. Profiling has always fascinated me, and shows based on close knit teams that become like family are a definite attraction. Besides the team dynamics, the hot agents, and the intricate puzzles of human behavior, the show has an interesting slant on the relationship between profilers and victims. The emphasis is always on the victim; in fact there are episodes where the general police or our heroes are chastised for forgetting what the focus is; saving the victim, saving the monster if they can. Jason Gideon keeps photos of the people they've managed to rescue in his office, and he takes a notebook of photos with him on every case. It reminds him why they do this, why they expose themselves to the horrors over and over again. It's the impulse to help, rather than the impulse to be the Hero.
I've watched a metric load of Criminal Minds since I discovered the show, all out of order, sometimes hours at a time. The victims really vary, although they are predominantly female. I dislike the emphasis on violent imagery, and would prefer less of it. There are some episodes where they spend way too much time on bound females writhing. Way too much writhing. The victims that personally bother me the most are the children. But the best part is the agents, and the relationships between them. Morgan and Garcia, Emily and Jennifer, Hotch and Rossi, Reid and Gideon, and all the permutations thereof. Their lives outside the BAU, such as they are, are explored. JJ's affair, then pregnancy, then marriage, and how it affects her work. Hotch's marriage, his son, the divorce. Morgan's past, Garcia's affair with Xander (uh, Kevin, sorry.) Reid and his mother. Love, love, love it.