TV News and Reviews

*SPOILER ALERT* I have to say, the Crusoe finale really threw me tonight. The way things were running (at a somewhat breakneck pace these last couple episodes), I’d imagined everything was going to end neatly with a big bow on it. Not so, however. While Crusoe and Friday do manage to outwit their captors, and the evil brother-in-law and Blackthorn get their just desserts (in rather cruel fashion, I might add), Crusoe doesn’t actually make it back to England. He disavows the fortune that belongs to him, saves Friday, and they end up back on the island. With a burned-out treehouse.

Back home, his wife fares better with Olivia’s help. Out of the asylum, and her children out of the orphanage, she is free to take over what is now her children’s entitlement to Blackthorn’s estate. Rather delicious irony, actually, so well done there.

Of course Crusoe doesn’t know any of this. He can only act on faith. And we as viewers can only imagine what becomes of him and Friday–if somehow the Spaniard manages to send another ship out to rescue them, with the help of Olivia…who knows? And while I generally hate sad or unsatisfying endings, I think the fact that this avoided the easy wrap-up worked better for me. The finale leaves it open for a return to these characters–who knows, maybe a Crusoe TV movie or mini-series in future? And if not, it’s satisfying enough that we don’t feel cheated.

One thing that bothered me about the episode: Once Crusoe finds the all important paper in his father’s Bible, he takes that and discards the Bible, as far as I can tell. It was the one precious thing he had left of his family, and knowing that his father died–wouldn’t it have had even more sentimental value? Did it lose its value because his father wasn’t his biological father?

I did like that Crusoe said they’d take the dog the next time. That’s right! It broke my heart when they left him behind last episode.

So, farewell for now to Crusoe and Friday. You can catch up on full episodes at NBC, but not for long, probably. Get your shirtless Philip Winchester while you can, because NBC will probably yank the episodes to make it necessary to buy the DVD set. Which I probably will. Shirtless Philip and Tongayi Chirisa and delicious Sean Bean? Not a bad investment, I say. (If you’re interested in shirtless Crusoe, don’t forget the pics over at the Shrine to Actors .)

And one apology, for it seems I relied too heavily on IMDB and misspelled Tongayi Chirisa’s name in my posts. I will let him give me the angry eye as he corrects me.

**Shirtless Philip Winchester, angry Tongayi Chirisa of Crusoe screencaps, c2008, 2007 Moonlighting Films, NBC.

With fall shows returning, midseason TV starting up, and special movies running, there’s a lot to watch on television this week. Can’t decide what to tune in for? Here are TV News and Reviews’ primetime suggestions for the week of January 25, 2009:

Sunday

Cold Case, CBS, 8/7c. Tune in early for this thoughtful, heartstring-tugging cop procedural that typically runs an hour earlier on Sundays. This week’s case involves the murder of a 1967 brush salesman.

The Last Templar, Part I, NBC, 9/8c. I’m not familiar with the novel by Raymond Khoury, but this two-part mini-series about an archaeologist and FBI agent exploring the long-hidden secrets of the Knights Templar looks like it might be a fun National Treasure-ish style adventure. With an exciting line-up of Mira Sorvino (who reportedly broke 5 teeth during a boating action scene accident), Scott Foley, Victor Garber and Omar Shariff, I’m looking forward to checking this one out.

Monday

The Last Templar, Part II, NBC, 9/8c. The conclusion to Sunday night’s mini-series adventure.

The Closer, TNT, 9/8c. Set your DVR or stay up late if you want to catch both The Last Templar and the first new episode of the year for The Closer. Following last fall’s cliffhanger, viewers are anxious to see what happens with Brenda (Kyra Sedgwick) and Fritz’ (Jon Tenney) wedding plans and the fate of wounded team member Detective Sanchez. Catch the encore at midnight Eastern/11pm Central to avoid recording. As Brenda would say: “Thank you so much.”

Tuesday

Scrubs (2 episodes), ABC, 8/7c. The Mentalist is still doing reruns on CBS, so now’s your chance to take a peek at the last season of this clever ensemble comedy, with tonight’s guest star Elmo.

Wednesday

Lost, ABC, 9/8c. Be prepared to bend your brain with the third episode of the new season with our castaways. The season opener managed to clear up a few questions while opening up a whole new can of worms to consider. It wouldn’t be Lost if you weren’t lost, so just go along for the ride and see where it takes you.

Life on Mars, ABC, 10/9c. I loved this quirky American remake of a British show, starring Jason O’Mara (The Closer, Men in Trees) as police detective Sam Tyler, who gets hit by a car and wakes up in 1973. The mystery of the show lies in all the possible explanations for Tyler’s predicament–is he in a coma, hallucinating, on drugs, or dead? Or is it really time travel or some sort of dimension shifting? The beauty of Life on Mars is that it’s a great nostalgia piece and gritty cop show, with little bits of the mystery of Tyler’s past and future woven in. Paired up with fellow mind-bender Lost, here’s hoping Life on Mars finds the ratings it deserves. Heavy-hitters Harvey Keitel, Gretchen Mol, and Michael Imperioli also star.

Thursday

Burn Notice, USA, 10/9c. This witty spy action drama is a heck of a lot of fun to watch. With Jeffrey Donovan’s smooth spy moves and deadpan voiceovers, Gabrielle Anwar’s gleeful attachment to solving everything with violence, and blustery Bruce Campbell conning everyone in sight, the show delivers good old-fashioned entertainment in a slick, sexy, fun package. USA is treating us with a few midseason episodes before Burn Notice returns for its regular season in the summer.

Friday

Friday’s a deadzone this week, with not much going on and no new episodes. Even TLCs What Not to Wear is a recap episode, highlighting women from past episodes who had gone through impressive weight loss but hadn’t figured out how to dress their new figures. Though made up of old clips, we should be treated to some new banter from hosts/stylists Stacy London and Clinton Kelly, so tune in to TLC at 9/8c.

Saturday

Crusoe, NBC, 8/7c. This is it, folks, the season finale of this exciting romp with pirates, cannibals, and MacGyver-esque treehouses full of gadgets. And don’t forget the gorgeous Philip Winchester and Tongai Chirisa running around shirtless as they trade boyish banter.

*SPOILER ALERT* Tonight’s episode of Crusoe leaves us hanging in a cliffhanger before the season/series finale next Saturday. The incredibly evil Blackthorn (Sam Neill) washes up on shore after his running boat is destroyed on the reefs, killing the other two passengers. Crusoe (Philip Winchester) and Friday (Tongai Chirisa) of course rescue and care for him, blind to the snake that he is. Well, Crusoe is blind, but Friday’s not so easily fooled. I wish Crusoe would listen to Friday’s instincts a little more, but it’s understandable that it would be hard to suspect someone you’ve spent your whole life trusting. But he should have been a little more suspicious about Blackthorn’s vague answers about his wife and where she was living.

The bit of news that totally threw me was that Crusoe’s father isn’t really his father. This is complete irony, as so many viewers have commented on the astounding likeness between Sean Bean and Philip Winchester. It seems crazy to go to such trouble only to have them not actually be related–unless their intent was to completely shock us with the revelation, which I suppose they succeeded. This seems to be setting up a sort of fairytale ending, whereby Crusoe is heir to a large fortune. Unfortunately the proof of his parentage lies in his family bible that Blackthorn “accidentally” left back at the treehouse.

The cliffhanger leaves us with Crusoe and Friday running towards their “rescuers” camped on the beach. This is one of those times Crusoe needed a telescope to observe the rescue party, because I would think once he saw his brother-in-law he would know something bad was afoot. Although it looks like Friday was somewhat prepared for a fight with his gun at the ready…we’ll have to see what happens.

*MINOR SPOILER FOR NEXT WEEK’S FINALE* Actually, this is only a possible spoiler. NBC lists the summary for next week’s Crusoe finale and in the credits, Sean Bean’s name is listed. This could be just a flashback scene, of course, but could it be that Blackthorn was lying about Daddy Crusoe being gone? I’m not getting my hopes up, considering Sean Bean’s record in this area, but it’d be a nice surprise if he does turn up one more time.

And remember, all you Google searchers looking for “Philip Winchester shirtless” (and there are a lot of you, I’ve noticed), next week is your last chance to get a view of this toned beautiful man with his shirt off–and it may only be the familiar credits shot that runs every week.

Of course you can always visit the Shrine to Actors to see some of those shirtless screencaps…

Tune in to NBC next Saturday at 8/7c for the final episode of Crusoe.