What is On Jeffs' Mind

I missed 2010, but thought that it would be fun to list my top Movies and TV shows for 2011.

Movies 2011

Due to a few different factors this year, the amount of movies I saw were much less then I had in the previous years. In the past, I would go to a movie every week, and I would see good movies, and ones that were not as good. But over the past few years, I have gotten much more selective on what I see, I think a lot of it has to do with the cost of Movies in general, and that I am married now, so I would be paying for 2 instead of one. But here is my list for the year 2011

1. Super 8

I have to say, I really love this movie. When I saw it in the theatre, it just really grabbed me, and gave me a real good feeling. I think a lot of it has to do with it being such a nostalgic movie with it being set in the late 70′s. The kids were right around my age, and I could really relate to them. At times it felt like I was traveling through a time machine back to a time when things just seemed a bit more simple. The story as well was very much a throw back to some of those great Steven Speilberg movies of the 80′s, but as well felt very fresh compared to the movies we have to day. Not saying there is anything wrong with today’s movies, but it was nice break. All the actors in the movie were top notch, the Alien creature was cool, and the story for me left me with something to think about. This movie is a movie that I feel I can watch again and again, just because of the nice feelings it gives me.

2. Thor

I have to admit, that  going into the summer movie season, I was starting to wear down on Super Hero movies, as we had gotten so many the past few years, and this summer there were going to be a lot. But I think of all the Super Hero movies, this was the one I was looking the most forward to. I know nothing of Thor as I have never read the comic, but I liked the idea that he was sort of tied to the past, and also that he was from a different planet. I think maybe for me, it added something a bit different to the genre that some of the other Super Hero movies did not have. I saw this movie, and I have to say, I enjoyed it from start to finish. I saw it again on Blu-Ray and enjoyed just as much and maybe even more. I found the story moved very well, and that it took place in a few different locations, that were both very different, Asgard and Earth. There is something about this movie, just like Super 8 that left me with a very comfortable feeling. There was a post on the Treks in Sci-Fi forum about comfort movies, and if I was to add movies to that list, This one and Super 8 would be added to that list.  This movie I can watch over and over, and always find some enjoyment out of it.

3. The Adventures of TinTin

I normally don’t like movies that are a mix between life action and cartoon, so when I heard that TinTin was going to be that, I was a bit let down as I was hoping for live action.  I have to say after watching this movie, I was very pleased with the result. I felt they did a Fantastic job and it matched up with my idea of him from the comics. The story was action packed and a lot of fun, the 3D was awesome in this, and I was really pulled into the story. This movie was based off some of the comics, and I recalled parts of the stories. It has been years since I had read the comics, but after watching this movie, it has made me want to read the comics again. I really hope they make another, as this movie was really great.

4. Cowboys and Aliens

This was the movie I was most anticipating for the summer. Just the concept of a Western mixed with Sci-Fi had me really intrigued, and I could not wait for this to come out. I was pretty pleased with this movie, I thought it caught the wild west pretty well. Sort of left me wishing they would do more westerns, as they just don’t make many of those anymore. The Sci-Fi element was pretty good as well, and it was fun to see how the Cowboys took on the Aliens at the end. I will say I was hoping for maybe a larger Alien presence, but I guess from a story aspect, if there is to much Alien technology, then it would have been to much for the Cowboys to over come. But I have to say, this is two thumbs up from me, and a nice change from movies we might normally see.

5. Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon

I was never a big Transformers fan when I was younger, as it sort of got popular when I was getting into my teens, so I guess you could say I was a bit to old at the time . But the 3 movies so far I have really enjoyed. I know a lot of people have a lot of complaints about them, as they find that they are not as true as they could be to the cartoons, I can’t really argue with those comments, since I never really grew up with Transformers. This movie I really enjoyed, and I found that it was very well filmed, the 3D was awesome, the movie had bright and vivid colors. I really like the full out carnage that happens in this move, and really enjoyed nearly every piece of it. I also did not miss Megan Fox at all and found Rosie Huntington-Whiteley to be a good replacement. I guess the complaint is that the female leads might be sexualized to much, and maybe that is so, but I thought for what the movie was about, she did a great job. My one complaint about this movie, which is weird, is I really disliked the NASCAR tie in, as the scenes they had just really threw me out of the movie, but besides that, really enjoyed the movie.

Honorable Mention: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

I just went to this recently, more so because my wife wanted to see it. But I have to say, it was really good, maybe almost good enough to make my top 5. I find Tom Cruise the person a bit weird, but as an actor he is top notch. This movie was really stunning and all the tech gadgets really cool as well. Every time I see a Mission Impossible movie, it feels like it is better then the last one. So I have to say, I thank my wife for making me go with her.

Regrets

I think my main regret was the amount of movies I missed this year, as I saw way less then I normally would. Top of the list would be X-Men first class, as for some reason, when it came out, I was either busy or something about it was holding me back from seeing it. I picked it up on Blu-Ray and will be watching it soon, but I am thinking that I might regret not seeing this one in the theatre. I also regret that I fell behind on the Harry Potter movies, as I missed the last one, since I had not seen the one previous. So it is another I will have to wait and see later. I missed a few others like Conan that I wanted to see in the theatre, and really wanted to see more movies this year.

Television – 2011

These were my favorite TV shows for 2011. Was hard to come up with a list as liked a lot of shows and found a lot of them really close in how I felt.

1. Fringe

Great show, I really love it. It is a show both my Wife and I can watch, which is rare as we don’t watch many of the same shows. The past season has been awesome, with Episodes occurring in different universes with the same characters, but slightly different. The 4th season started off with Peter missing, and leading up to him coming back. They have really taken this show in a direction I never dreamed of. They have a good mix of episodes that tie into the mythology of the series, as well stand alone episodes. Just a really great show, that I enjoy a lot.

2. Hawaii 5.0

This reboot I really like a lot. Normally I like more of the shows with a bit of a Sci-Fi angle to them, but this show is just a lot of fun, with a lot of action. I like all the actors on the show, I like the cool sets and scenery, makes me really want to go to Hawaii. I find as well they have a good mix of stand alone shows and ones that tie into a larger plot of the series. This is one show that I make a habit to watch pretty quickly each week.

3. How I met Your Mother

I really enjoy this show a lot, it is very funny, but also has some deeper themes to it as well. I think as well this show has a lot of hidden geek cred to it, which they pull off so well. It sort of comes off much more real then a show like the Big Bang Theory. Every time I watch this show, I get some good laughs, as the comedy they do in it is something I really like. They had some deeper episodes last year as well, like when Marshall’s Dad died, it was so unexpected and just very well done. Another show that I try and watch as quickly as I can.

4. The Office

I still really enjoying this show, even with Michael Scott leaving. I found his replacement Robert California to be just as funny and given the series a bit of a different feel. Some of the episodes still feel very close to what it is like to work in an office, so at times it is fun to laugh at things that might be very true.

5. Person of Interest

This was a new show in the Fall, and I have to say, I am really enjoying it. I like the idea of being able to predict crimes that will happen, and then having a pair of vigilantes working to prevent them. It has a bit of a loose sci-fi twist in how they are able to predict what will happen, and they are just starting to get into deeper elements of the story, which I feel are going to get real interesting in the second half of the season. I like Michael Emerson in this show, I feel it is a great followup from his work on LOST.

Honorable Mention: Castle/The Mentalist/Terra Nova

I could not decide between these 3, and truthfully, these could have all hit my top 5 list as well. Terra Nova I felt got better as the season progressed, but it started out very weak. I have been enjoying Castle and the Mentalist as well, they are always very solid, but for me, from a strict crime based show, I will give Hawaii 5.0 the nod. But with that said, both Castle and The Mentalist are great shows that I look forward to watching every week. Again, any 3 of these shows could have easily been put on my top 5.

Regrets

I think my largest regret for 2011 is the lack of Sci-Fi shows. I really enjoy Sci-Fi, but there just was not much on for me to watch. I am hoping in the new year with Space Channel being broadcast in HD on my cable provider that I might find a Sci-Fi series I have been missing out. People talk about a few, but I have never seen them since they were never on HD, so hopefully I can go back and catch up.

Tags: Castle, Cowboys and Aliens, Fringe, Hawaii 5.0, How I met your Mother, Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol, Super 8, Terra Nova, The Adventures of Tintin, The Mentalist, The Office, Thor, Transformers

Warning

There will be Spoilers below for the following shows I watched regularly in the 2010-2011 season:
Castle, The Mentalist, Fringe, Hawaii 5-0, How I met Your Mother, The Office and The Big Bang Theory

Castle

Really enjoyed this season, each episode is usually a lot of fun, with an interesting murder and light moments throughout the show so that it does not get to heavy and depressing. The Mythology of the show is Kate Beckett and her search for the killer/reason behind her mothers death. They pushed that story arc a long quite a bit this year. The finale was completely focused on it, and blew it wide open, with the revelation that Captain Montgomery was involved. That led to some deaths and a rather large cliffhanger involving Beckett. I will be honest though, I prefer the stand alone episodes over the story arc, they are just more fun.

The Mentalist

An interesting season also, dealing a lot with the investigation of event from last season in the CBI office. A lot of twists and turns in Patrick Janes investigation into Red John and the murder of his wife. A lot of the story arc was around Agent Laroche investigating the fiery death of a prisoner related to Red John, and interviewing the different members of the CBI team. Those investigations have brought to light something that the respective members might not want known. Midway through the season, there was a setup of Agent Hightower, which saw Patrick Jane come up with a plan to get her away, so he could continue investigating the murder, CBI corruption and Red John. The finale saw the revelation that Agent Van Pelts fiance, an FBI agent, was responsible for the death of the CBI inmate from last season. That really did not come as a shock to me, as I pretty much suspected that guy for the whole season. The finale also saw Patrick Jane come face to face with Red John and led to him killing him. For me, I am not really sure if that was Red John, and I am not sure where that leads us to next year, as Patrick Jane will probably be arrested for killing the so called Red John. A lot happened, but I am not sure how next season will play out, looks like it could be heavy on Mythology of the show and the overiding story arc. I just can’t see them letting Patrick Jane off so easy, and I really don’t believe that was Red John.

Fringe

A great season of Fringe, which saw episodes in the Red Verse and the Blue Verse, with many of the episodes focusing on the shows story arc. I came to enjoy both verses and the characters in them, the cases they worked on were really interesting, with so many twists and turns. They had a really cool partially animated episode where Peter and Walter traveled into Olivia’s mind to help free her from her bond with William Bell. That episode also saw the end of William Bell, or did it??? Also there was another flashback episode that saw the first meeting of Peter and Olivia as kids, and showcased Olivia’s abilities which led to her tipping off Walternate on the fate of Peter. Another great episode had Christoper Lloyd in it, in which we see the consequences of Walters actions for bringing Peter to the blue verse from the red verse. The final set of episodes focused on the machine, and the prophecy of Peter using it to destroy the other verse. In the end, it was Peter trying to turn it off, and then us as viewers being transported into the future 15 years to see the fate of that decision. We are left with the decision of Peter to go back in time after future Olivia is killed, thus Peter wiping out his own existence. So many questions for next season, what happened to Peter, how will the Blue Verse and Red Verse work together, and what state are the worlds in, are they still being ripped apart by the actions of Walter.

Hawaii 5-o

Great first season of the show. The episodes have great scenery, great actors and really fast moving stories with lots of Action. The story arc of the show is Steve McGarrett is looking for the murderer of his mother and father. He is working off the case files of his fathers, and work on a unit called 5-0 which gives him immunity above what a normal police officer would get. The supporting cast is great with his right hand man Danny Williams, a New Jersey cop who moved to Hawaii to be close to his ex wife and daughter. Chin Ho Kelly is another member of 5-0 who used to work with Steve’s father. He was accused of corruption by the HPD and spends the season trying to clear his name. The final member of the unit is Kono, a rookie officer and cousin of Chin, who used to be a surfer. Over the season, the team has had to do some things that were not by the book, in an attempt to solve crimes, bring down a Hawaii crime ring and search for the murderer of Steve’s parents, that led them to stealing some money form HPD. In the finale, it was discovered that the Governor who appointed Steve to form 5-0 was involved in his families death. The governor was killed along with an aid, and Steve was framed for it. They leave the season hanging with 5-0 being disbanded and Steve being arrested fro murder, Kono arrested for stealing money from HPD, Chin reinstated to the force, and Danny reuniting with his ex wife and going back to New Jersey. I can’t wait for next season, should be great.

How I Met your Mother

This was the first season I have watched fully, but I have seen nearly all of the episodes in the series. This season had it’s up and downs for me, as I really did not like the lady Ted was dating for most of the season. But like the other seasons, it was a lot of fun, with a lot of laughs. There were some more deeper episodes as well, such as the mid season shocker where Marshall’s Dad dies, the way the episode was done was great with a countdown the whole way through to the reveal. Also this year, Barney meets his real dad, who doesn’t really live up to Barney’s expectations of a wild crazy partier.  Ted is focused on designing a new building for GNB, Marshal and Lily are trying to have their first baby, and Robin takes on a new job and trying to get over her last relationship. They leave the season off with Ted breaking up with his girlfriend, Lily getting pregnant and the real shocker, what looks to be, Barney getting married. Earlier in the season Barney met a lady named Nora, that he liked, but could never get serious as he did not want to drop his Bro lifestyle. They left it of with Barney meeting Nora on the street and taking on the challenge of a relationship with her. But I am not convinced that Nora is the one Barney will marry, as still get the feeling it might be Robin, based off the look on Robins face when she saw Barney and Nora together. Great series, looking forward to next season

The Office

The Office is great, and this was a big season, as Michael Scott left Dunder Mifflin. The season was a bit of a build up to him leaving, and then the fallout after. I have to say, I was thinking that after Michael left, that the show might take a dip, but have found the episodes after have been really funny. Now the search is on for a new manager. They had a manager played by Will Farrell come in for a few episodes, and they were cool. The Farrell manager brought a different dynamic to the office, and his idiosyncrasies really did come out. I think the episode where he formed an inner circle at the office was really great and rang true for me. But now they are in search of a new manager, and who knows what that will be, the the finale focused on that search and all the crazy candidates.

The Big Bang Theory

A great season with some fun episodes. Sheldon new friend Amy Farrah Fowler was more involved this year and thinking her and Sheldon are headed towards a relationship. Howard is engaged to Bernadette. Leonard is dating Raj’s sister Priya, much to Raj’s chagrin. Nothing to big in the finale, beyond it looks like Leonard and Priya are headed for breakup as she is going back to India and Raj hooked up with Penny. Penny did admit that she felt she should have never broken up with Leonard, so will be interesting to see how Raj thrown into the mix now will affect the Penny/Leonard relationship. I was always a bit on the fence with Penny, but in the episode where she takes the guys to retrieve Sheldons WOW items that were stolen, was great, and really showed how much they rely on her, and how she fits in with them.

Tags: Castle, Fringe, How I met your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist, The Office

Just thought I would do a top list for the year in Movies and Television for me. Inspired by Rico’s recent Treks in Sci-Fi podcast in which he listed his top movies and and TV shows for the year.

Movies – 2009

I was looking over the list of movies for the year, and I think this year may have been the year I had seen the least amount of movies in recent memory. Looking over the list, there just was not a lot of big blockbuster movies that are usually my favorites. I suspect a big reason for that might be the fallout from the writers strike a year or two ago, and also the bad economy. Looking through the list, saw about 14 movies for the year (two on DVD), so not much to choose from for my top 5 list, but still a bit tough to choose. There were some great movies this year, but overall disappointed with 2009 for movies. So here is my List of my favorites for 2009

1. Star Trek

I only saw this movie once, and will admit I left the movie theatre feeling a little uncertain about my feelings, but with more reflection and reading what others had said, this was a great movie, and most likely my favorite for the year. I was so excited for this movie to come out, and for the most part it delivered for me. The casting was very well done, with only a role or two that for me did not work. The story was fast paced, and the way they fit this into the Star Trek time line was very novel, though left a bit of a tear in my eye. This movie I was anticipating a lot for it’s release to DVD and actually was a catalyst for me to get Blu-Ray. For as big of a Star Trek fan I am, I am surprised I have only watched this the one time, but that will be remedied very soon.

2. Terminator Salvation

For the longest time, my idea of the Terminator was really just limited to Arnold Schwarzenegger, but after watching the TV series, I was really opened up to the potential of this series. I was really anticipating this movie, and a lot, almost as much as Star Trek. This movie really delivered for me, I went into this movie really pumped and I left the theatre very excited as well. I really liked the idea of going to a time when Judgment Day had happened, and when the Terminators ruled the world. Christian Bale was fantastic as John Connor, he brought so much intensity to the role. I was also very impressed with Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese as well. His role of Chekov in the Star Trek movie was limited, but he really had a large part in this one, and he delivered. I know some have panned this movie, but I really cannot find any weaknesses in it to me, just a real solid movie to me.

3. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

I felt that this was a very solid followup to the first Transformers movie. Plenty of action, great story, and brought back all the characters from the first movie. I found the action sequences between the Autobots and Decepticons much easier to follow in this movie from the previous. The humour elements were still there as well, and not over board, and the story moved along pretty well.

4. Trailer Park Boys countdown to Liquor Day

The Trailer Park Boys is a real guilty pleasure for me. I really enjoyed this movies, and carried on the Story really well. I had missed the last TV movie they had, but I was able to catch up pretty fast with this movie. The way the filmed this one felt different from how the series had been filmed, and even the first movie, but it gave the movie a feeling of a more  theatrical release. I always enjoy comedies such as this, and always like to laugh a bit at this form of humour. Certainly this is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I had plenty of laughs the whole way through, and ranked as a memorable movie for me this year.

5. Avatar

I just saw this movie, so it was fresh in my mind. This was the most expensive movie ever made, and it certainly shows it. I saw the Digital 3D release of it, and it was stunning. It was the first 3D movie I had ever seen, and must say I was impressed with the technology. I must admit, I was not blown away by this movie as some were, and took a bit of back and forth for it to get on my top 5 list. After some debating in my head, I had to include it, as for the most part I enjoyed this movie, and probably my only real complaint on it was that I felt it was a bit long. The story was simple, but the message was powerful, in how we treat earth. I had seen some previews, and was worried that the Na’Vi might look to animated, but they really fit in the movie. I suspect that this movie will be around for a long time, and will be a bench mark for other movies, and probably a staple in a lot of peoples video collections.

Honorable Mention: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

A lot of people really disliked this movie, but for me, I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I really only know about Wolverine and the X-Men from the movies, so I don’t know all the back story in the comics, so a lot of the hangups others had, I did not. I might get in trouble for saying this, but I felt it was better then some of the X-Men movies. It met my expectations and had a good time watching it.

Regrets

My regret for 2009 in terms of movies, was that I missed the latest Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I am not really a Potter fan, but had seen all the movies up to this last one. I was in the middle of moving at the time, so my schedule just never allowed for me to get to the theatre for this one. Hopefully I can see this one before the next one comes out.

Television 2009

For my complaints on the lack of big 2009 Movies, I found the 2009 TV season to be really great, and much more difficult to come up with my top 5 for the year.

1. LOST

All I can say is wow. Season 5 was incredible. They took the series in a direction that I really enjoyed, and every episode was solid. I can’t recall how many times I was left with my mouth hanging open after an episode. The writers and producers of this program are very creative, and did things I could never imagine. Season 6 will be the final season, and it will be so bittersweet. When this series comes to an end, I will miss it a lot, as everything about it is top notch. What they did with season 5 and how they handled the Losties who are on the island and the ones who were not was fantastic. This show is great, one of my all time favorites.

2. Terminator:  The Sarah Connor Chronicles

The second season of this series in one word was awesome. So how are we rewarded, it is canceled. I must admit I was really disappointed when it came to an end, as another great show, ended well before it’s time. It took me a bit to really warm up to the characters in the first season, but I really came to accept them in their roles. The Addition of Bryan Austin Green to the series in season 1 was great, and I found he had a strong character in season 2, which led to the most shocking scene of season 2. The second season was non stop, and left me waiting with much anticipation for the next episode. The Arc about the mysterious Terminator working for the corporation left me fascinated, as really never knew what to think of her. Sarah s search into Skynet was awesome as well, with her uncovering clues here and their. The really chilling John Henry Terminator was fantastic as well, and the clash for Johns attention between Cameron and Riley was great as well. This was a great series, sorry to see it go, but at least I have both seasons on DVD.

3. Fringe

This show started up last year in the fall, and I really enjoyed it. It has some great elements to it, with a heavy nod to the X-Files. Just like LOST, it is a JJ Abrams show, so there is plenty to watch in each episode, and plenty to think about after. The ongoing story arc is that the FBI agent Olivia Dunham is investigating weird Fringe Science cases that are linked by something called the pattern. She is getting help from Peter and Walter Bishop, a father and son team so to say. Walter is sort of a mad scientist, who had come up with a lot of the science they see in some of the cases they are investigating. All the major Characters have interesting pasts, which makes the show all the more deep. Walter was in a psyche ward for a number of years, and not all there, Peter has a checkered past with some real mystery to him, and Olivia seems to have a very close link to the pattern from her childhood. Great series, hoping it will be around for a long time.

4. Flash Forward

Started in the fall, this quickly became a real favorite of mine. Sort of similar to LOST in that we are introduced to a large cast of characters, and a big series wide mystery that drives the show. Basically at the start of the show, everyone has blacked out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds, and had a flash forward to May of 2010 where they saw a glimpse of what their life would be like at that time. An FBI task force was setup to investigate this and was dubbed Mosaic, and so far have been investigation leads and people in hopes to solving the mystery. The cast is fantastic, they story line is great and keeps me wanting to come back for more. Hoping the ratings stay strong for this one, as need a replacement for LOST when it signs off later in the season.

5. The Office

I really like The Office, and this past year has been great. Last season they went through a whole storyline of Michael Scott leaving Dunder Mifflin to start up his own paper company the Michael Scott Paper Company, the episodes were so great. This season we pickup with Dunder Mifflin going through some tough times due to the economy, and the series really does mimic what happens in the corporate world. The cast is always great, with Michael Scott and Dwight Schrute being my favorites, but I am really liking Andy Bernard as well. They have the show well cast, as you can see these characters in the places we work, they really do have a good read on the business and working world.

Honorable Mentions: The Mentalist/Castle

Two crime dramas with cool twists on them. With the Mentalist, the lead character Patrick Jane is a lot of fun to watch. He has a great skill of observation, and how he goes about helping the team solves the cases each week is great. The Mentalist also has a really awesome supporting cast that plays off well against Patrick Jane, great series. Castle is another new favorite of mine, and another crime Drama. Richard Castle is a Crime Novelist and his unique perspective he brings makes each episode a lot of fun to watch. Both shows are similar but different

Regrets

Cancellations, I really hate them, especially shows that I enjoyed. Two NBC shows jump out at me as being very disappointed at being canceled. The first one was a show called Life, another quirky police drama, that had a two season run. Fortunately they were able to bring the show to a conclusion and answer the questions. The other show was called Crusoe and was about Robinson Crusoe. It was a really fun action adventure show, with great sets and lite stories that most anyone could enjoy. Those with Sarah Connor Chronicles and the a lesser extent Knight Rider made me feel a little down about the 2009 TV season when it came to canceling shows I watched.

My other regret was the ending of Battlestar Galactica. Not so much that it ended, but that I felt it sort of limped out and don’t really miss it. I know some of the final episodes were very dramatic, but I found the answers to the over all arc and theme of the show to be a bit of a let down.  The second part of the series seemed to get wrapped up in its myth, and sort of tossed all the action oriented and stand alone episodes to the side.  I missed those elements as the series seemed aimed more at the non sci-fi viewers in this last season. The final season episodes at times came across very dramatic to the point of elitist, in the sense that they were determined not to tell a story with some action elements or even in a sci-fi manner. I will probably not be popular for saying this, but the final episode had some great moments, but other parts the story wrapped up very predictably and pedestrian. Caprica is to come, but what I have seen of it so far from the DVD sneak peek, it is heavy on the elements I did not enjoy much in BSG.

Tags: Avatar, BSG, Castle, Crusoe, Flash Forward, Fringe, Harry Potter, Knight Rider, Life, LOST, Star Trek, Terminator 4, Terminator Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Mentalist, The Office, The Trailer Park Boys, Transformers, Treks in Sci-Fi, X-Men: Wolverine

Police/Crime dramas have never been a real favorite of mine, I guess I have always been more of a Sci-Fi guy when it comes to Television and Movies(Though I do like War/Military movies). But over the past few years I have started watching a few Police dramas, but not really the ones that seem to be the big ones like CSI or Law and Order. The past 2 television seasons I was watching the TV show Life rather faithfully, but that was canceled at the end of last season. It got me interested in seeing more of this genre, as it changed my mind a bit on these shows. One of the things I do over the summer is watch shows that I never watched during the regular season. So I started watching a couple different police/crime dramas in Castle and The Mentalist, both a bit similar, but a bit different as well.

The first show I started watching was Castle. I saw it mentioned on the Treks in Sci-Fi forums, and the premise sounded interesting enough to me. The premise is that the lead character Rick Castle is a mystery write, but has run into writers block. He was able to use his influence to work with the NYPD after helping with a case that mimicked some of his books. He is basing his next series of book off of detective Kate Beckett and calling his character Nikki Heat. The show is a lot of fun, and not quite as serious as some of the other crime dramas. The Castle character is a lot of fun and approaches the cases more lightheartedly, and has an interesting perspective on the cases as he is coming from it as a murder mystery writer, and see’s things that the other detectives cannot. Also Castle not being on the force, but as a consultant, can do some things on the case that the other detectives cannot. He can go into situations undercover and talk with contacts which the others can’t. Also with most shows, there is a bit of a story arc that is a thread through the series. The Character Kate Becketts mom was murdered when she was younger, and the case was never solved. Castle has started looking in the case and it comes up in the episodes.

One night I was flipping through the channel guide on my TV looking for something to watch, and I saw the show called The Mentalist. To be honest, I was not really sure what to expect, as the title lead to think it might be something else. The Premise of the show is that the lead Character Patrick Jane is a consultant to a CBI team(California Bureau of Investigation) and offers an interesting perspective on the cases through his observation and questioning. His methods usually annoy the others on the team, and at times the people who they are investigating. Patrick Jane comes off as a bit of a quirky individual, and with being a consultant, he has the flexibility to do some things that others in the team cannot. This series has a story Arc in it as well, Patrick Janes wife and daughter were killed by a serial killer by the name of Red John, so throughout the series the case comes up, and what really drives Jane as he is looking to find the killer. The cast for this show is great, with all the members on the team have great characters.

Both of these shows can be viewed as having some similar aspects. They are both murder mystery shows, and the lead characters are not officially on the teams, but more consultant or observers. The Rick Castle Character is a much more flamboyant or out going character, then the Patrick Jane character who seems more cerebral and quirky. They both play off the female leads very well, with the Castle/Beckett characters look like they might lead to something romantic, whereas in The Mentalist, Janes character is always getting reeled in to a certain bit. I find the ensemble cast on the Mentalist to be a bit better then Castle, as they seem to use the secondary characters much more, and each has their own unique identity.

I think both series are great and well worth watching. Castle is on Mondays on ABC at 10:00 pm and The Mentalist is on Thursdays at 10:00 pm. I must admit Thursdays are a very busy TV night for me. The Office, 30 Rock, Fringe, The Mentalist and Flash Forward.

Tags: 30 Rock, Castle, Flash Forward, Fringe, Life, The Mentalist, The Office