TV News and Reviews

Last night was the season, and perhaps series, finale for Life. The episode “One” was definitely saving the best for last in the Life season. Ordinarily I would give a recap of the episode, but it was just so perfectly done, every little bit in its rightful place, that to try and recreate it seems foolish. I recommend instead that you head over to NBC.com for the full episode and watch it for yourself.

One thing I will say is that I think Sarah Shahi’s pregnancy was the best thing to happen to Life this season. Creator Rand Ravich said in an interview with Zap2It that the end result of the show was as originally planned, but Shahi’s pregnancy required they do some out of the box thinking to get to that end result. I think what came out of that off-the-cuff redo was pure gold, or pure Zen for Charlie’s sake. Having the two partners separated, seeing what Crews did without Reese by his side, showed so much about his character. How she checked in on him, told the others which of his quirks to watch for and how to respond to them, was also an interesting peek into her psyche. And how Crews reacted to Reese being missing became the driving force of the last episodes and finale.

The addition of Gabrielle Union as Crews’ overachieving uber skilled temporary partner Jane Seever was also a wonderful stroke of luck/genius. If Life comes back for another season, I’d really like to see more of Seever. Union made her sharp, funny, and real…and most importantly, made what could have been an arrogant know-it-all into a sassy and likable character. Seever’s dynamic with Crews set up a nice balance to the one Crews has with Reese, and Seever’s unique skill sets were an asset to the cases they worked together.

This last episode “One” put together all the elements of both seasons, giving us moments with all the main players in the squad, in Crews’ personal life, and in the conspiracy. Questions were answered, including a very important one about Crews’ murdered business partner–a man he thought he knew, and it turns out that he did. There are great twists with Rayborn (William Atherton) and Roman (Garret Dillahunt), and I was happy to see Agent Bodner (Shashawnee Hall) get another turn in the game. We also get some great scenes with Ted (lovable Adam Arkin) and Amanda (Damian Lewis’ wife in real life, Helen McCrory).

Crews puts it all on the line in season finale “One”, taking two big chances to try and get Reese and himself out of this mess alive. And all the while, the action is intertwined with Charlie’s Zen tapes, the theme being: one plus one does not equal two…it equals one. I’ll leave you to watch the episode to discover why that is.

Stay tuned to TV News and Reviews to find out when and if this quirky, thoughtful, unique, and heartfelt show Life has been renewed for another season.

PHOTOS: Damian Lewis as Charlie Crews and Sarah Shahi as Dani Reese, Life, “One” screencaps, c2009 NBC Universal Television.

*SPOILER ALERT* Life returned to primetime TV tonight, showing us the result of Charlie Crews‘ shooting. They had me going there right at the beginning, thinking Crews really didn’t remember who shot him. Seems Crews is as good an actor as Damian Lewis. I liked that Tidwell didn’t buy it for a second. When you’ve got police officers on a show that you’re supposed to admire, it’s nice when they’re actually good at what they do.

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Life also had me in suspense over who actually did shoot him. It was creepy but an interesting twist that Crews refashioned the bullet that shot him into a new one for his attacker. I loved that he told the doctor that he wanted the bullet because someone gave it to him, and that he couldn’t just throw it away. Lewis always has that great cheeky smile when he says stuff like that, too. They did have me worried there for a bit, that he was going to commit cold-blooded revenge murder, but this played out much better.

So now we learn that Agent Bodner (Shashawnee Hall) had some compelling reasons to shoot Crews, in exchange for his family’s protection. Not sure this exactly makes him a good guy, because he sure didn’t seem all that reluctant to make Crews’ life miserable/over. I’m interested to see how this all plays out.

Three cheers for Ted (Adam Arkin) finally getting out of prison, just after he stood up for himself against a slimy inmate. Ted is, in a way, the character the audience can identify with more. He’s not a big tough guy that can take care of himself in prison. He’s a white collar guy, who fell in love with the wrong girl, and is too often the innocent bystander that gets caught up in Crews’ messed-up life. I’m glad that Crews continued to look out for him and didn’t give up until he got him back out of jail again, but it’s still a pretty big deal what Ted had to go through.

And I’m still not sure how I feel about Reese’s (Sarah Shahi) and Tidwell’s (Donal Logue) relationship. I don’t like how Reese acts around him, always making petulant-sounding demands and being angry with him for just about everything. I also don’t like that when I go to write about her character that this relationship is what I’m writing about. I would have been fine with them having an occasional fling here and there, when she needs to blow off some steam, but I don’t like that the relationship is such a focal point on the show. A female police detective doesn’t need to have a romance going all the time; I’d rather just watch her kick some ass while rolling her eyes at Crews.

I was going to say that the one up side to their relationship was that Tidwell had a normal, non-greasy hairstyle and looked five times as handsome in this episode. And then suddenly he had the slicked back ‘do later on in the episode, so I’m not sure what’s going on there. Life is struggling in the ratings and seems to be trying for a more friendly face–going more quirky than dark, ramping up the sex, and making Reese more girly with softer hair and more lip gloss. And now Tidwell got a temporary make-over.

A few minor changes are no big deal, but I think Shahi’s character is starting to suffer and I wish they would stop messing with a good thing. Life is an entertaining and interesting show, and I don’t want it to look like everything else on TV. Different is good.

Watch Life on NBC Wednesdays, 9/8c.

This is shaping up to be quite the annoying week, isn’t it? After the pile-up on Monday, and then a big nothing on Tuesday, we’ve now got two hours of excellent competing television with Life and Law & Order on NBC against Lost and Life on Mars on ABC. Time to break out the recording devices for the L-shows.

Life ended its fall run with Charlie Crews (Damian Lewis) getting shot point blank when he answered the front door. Unfortunately the suspense of what happens to him is kind of over with NBC running promos of the new Life episode with…well, Charlie Crews. Granted, we sort of knew if he got killed there wouldn’t be much of a show left. Still, I hate big cliffhangers that get answered by commercials instead of the actual program. There’s the mystery of who actually shot him, though, plus a new crime to solve this week with his partner Dani Reese (Sarah Shahi).

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If you’re not into quirky and amusing ex-con (wrongly convicted), Zen-inspired, fruit-eating redheaded police detectives solving crimes, then you can always turn over to <i>Lost</i> and watch your head explode over time traveling-islands, pre-determined destinies, and murderous sociopaths. All I keep thinking of is Captain Janeway from Star Trek: Voyager saying “The past is the future, the future’s the past–the whole thing gives me a headache.” It’s been an okay sort of headache, though, with the characters we love banding together a bit more against the insanity of what’s going on around them. There’s a whole new arc to explore this season, and I’m looking forward to hopefully getting a few more answers to the ever-building twisty questions.

Following Lost is Life on Mars, a show both quirky and occasionally headache-inducing as we try to figure out if modern-day cop Sam Tyler (Jason O’Mara) time-traveled to 1973 or is simply hallucinating. Amidst the nostalgia trip of a cop show, we also have cryptic messages and phone calls from people who either seem to know more than they should or are a voice from the future. Occasionally the TV will switch over to something relevant only to Sam. It’s mind-boggling, but fun trying to figure how it’s going to play out. In the meantime, they’ve started establishing the 1970s characters more. Last week’s episode gave us a lot more insight into Lieutenant Hunt’s (Havey Keitel) personality, as we learn the truth behind his rivalry with another precinct. Lovely Annie Norris (Gretchen Mol) also keeps up the dance of sexual tension with Tyler, breaking our hearts with the unrequitedness of it.

Opposite that we have the far more straightforward cop/lawyer show Law & Order, which finally seems to have settled on the right casting choices after the shake-ups of recent years. I wasn’t sure how Anthony Anderson was going to work out, but he and Jeremy Sisto have settled into a comfortable partnership as Detectives Bernard and Lupo, respectively. Linus Roache (as Michael Cutter) is still duking it out with Sam Waterston (as Jack McCoy) for screen time, but he’s always a treat to watch. What I’ve noticed is that on the police side, S. Epatha Merkerson as Lieutenant Van Buren has been involved more in cases and taking an active role in some investigations. Somehow she doesn’t seem to intrude the same way on the detectives that ADA McCoy does on the lawyer side, though. I’m not sure yet if it’s a difference in the writing, the characters, or the actors. In any case, Law & Order is as strong as ever in its 19th season, still giving us compelling characters and exciting cases to work through each week.

Watch NBC, starting at 9/8c for Life, followed by Law & Order.

Watch ABC, starting at 9/8c for Lost, followed by Life on Mars.

Or start recording…