I mentioned a couple of days ago that I’ve been watching Monk, Tony Shalhoub’s new show. Having given it a reasonable chance (three episodes), and as much as I like him and the character, I think I’m going to give it a pass. The whole show feels somehow forced, and the performances phoned in, not to mention the transparent plotlines.
Much as I hate to admit it, I liked the episodes of She Spies that NBC showed in July. I take that back: I don’t hate to admit it, because I really enjoyed the show. It bears a lot of similarity to Once a Thief, a Canadian TV favourite from a couple of years ago. (I was about to write that that isn’t surprising given Jeff Reno and Ron Osborn’s involvement, but in looking up the link for Once a Thief I discovered I’d misremembered, and they had nothing to do with that series. They are associated with The West Wing as writers, though, which would explain the snappy dialogue in She Spies. Weird.)
Also caught the last 15 minutes of A&E’s Lathe of Heaven tonight (note no The
). I was surprised not to see any Aldebaranians, which makes me curious what else was cut; Haber’s Alzheimer-like condition was toned down from his demise in the novel, and I’m concerned that things like the solution to racial harmony
(turning everyone grey, and thus causing Heather Lelache’s entire existence to disappear) will have been treated similarly. But I’ve got it on tape, and will check it out… after tomorrow night’s premiere of Jeremiah on TMN. (Hey! Ingrid Kavelaars, who’s from Glencoe, is in Jeremiah. Why didn’t I know that until now‽)
