Crusoe aired tonight and I thought I would give it a chance, though I thought it was a tv movie instead of the pilot for a new 13 episode show. The original story by Daniel Defoe was published in 1719 and it has always held a bit of interest for me. Pretty much has been since I watched Swiss Family Robinson as a kid and realized it was loosely based of Defoe’s novel. The new show is also very loosely based on the novel as well. Obviously keeping Crusoe on an island for 28 years is going to be a bit depressing and making it Cast Away also doesn’t really work as a series. Changes and all I thought I would give it a go. Besides, any chance for me to see Sean Bean even for a second, is worth it. (I adore Sean Bean)
So, how was it? Okay. Clearly NBC is banking on a bit of the Pirates of the Caribbean craze which is fine by me. I like pirates. They make me smile. There are some big changes that have been made. Other than being shipwrecked, having Friday as his companion and being on an island they’ve definitely made it their own.
Crusoe is now quite easy on the eyes and Philip Winchester can be shirtless whenever he wants as far as I am concerned. No bearded survivalist here and his clothes have remained remarkably intact despite being on the island at least a few years. Our shipwrecked hottie is also apparently Macgyver on an island (you should see his jungle pad of awesome) which is also fine by me. I loved Macgyver and was all about the mullet love. Fun gadgets, booby traps, and an impressive tree house make me happy. But the man puts Gilligan’s professor to shame. Seriously. There is romance now (told through flashbacks) and Friday and Crusoe are going to be playing up the buddy buddy thing. Speaking of Friday. I really like him. Tongayi Chirisa makes Friday Crusoe’s equal and their friendship is believable.
Next week looks like a little bit Indiana Jones-esque with a long lost tomb. And somehow I think Sam Neil’s uncle figure may make take a Mondego turn with the possibility he may have some un-uncle like designs on Crusoe’s wife. Not that Crusoe would go the Edmund Dantes route and have revenge be his sole focus when he returns to the mainland, if he ever does. It also looks like Alias’s Mia Maestro will be playing someone on the show as well so mainland intrigue may be plentiful. The first episode had pirates, even a lovely pirate wench and the action was fun. There was humour, swordfights, snarkiness, a cute puppy and the aforementioned Sean Bean for 12 seconds. How on earth they are going to keep it going and interesting for 13 episodes, I am still not sure but I might try it again next week especially if Crusoe is shirtless again.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Macgyver on an island...
Monday, October 6, 2008
Psych Redux
I have a crush on Simon Baker (then again, who don’t I have a crush on). I will pretty much watch anything he is because he exudes a charisma and screen presence that I find fascinating. He features in my dreams of zombie apocalypses…well him and Jake Weber and occasionally Gerard Butler whom I think would do well during a zombie invasion apparently. In the cancelled show ‘Smith’ (which was a shame cause I kinda liked it) he played a very sexy, very convincing and very scary psychopath and adorable in Something New. Add the Guardian, another tv show I enjoyed, and the aforementioned zombie apocalypse film of Land of the Dead and I have been smitten for some time which is why I started watching The Mentalist. 
When I first heard about the show all I could think of was that it is a Psych rip-off without the pop culture references and highly memorable dialogue. The similarities are there. Shawn Spencer pretends to be a psychic to solve crimes in Psych. Patrick Jane used to pretend to be a psychic and now solves crimes in the Mentalist. Both use their keen powers of observation and memory that apparently the rest of the crime units don’t sue. Both are a bit snarky. Both…are fun to watch, but in different ways. Psych is a comedy with crime thrown in, whereas The Mentalist is going the CSI route when it comes to the crimes. There is humor, but is definitely more of a drama.
As I said Simon Baker has charisma and he steals the show whenever he is on the screen which thankfully for me…is a lot. However, two episodes in and the rest of the cast hasn’t gelled as well with him thus far. I think the problem is they’re not making the other characters useful enough yet. I do like the fact that it is both cynical and snarky, but that maybe there might be more to Patrick Jane than everyone thinks. I think you really are psychic. You just don't want to admit it, one person says to Patrick and he has a way of saying ‘that’s one way to do it, but is this really how I did it’ when it comes to his little tricks.
In the end I figure any show that gives Simon Baker a job makes me a happy camper. Of course because I kind of like it, it is doomed for cancellation.
