How Californication Ends

Well, I'm not going to tell you exactly or specifically how this season (4) of Californication ends - I don't want to spoil it for you - but continuing my sneak preview review yesterday of the first half of the new season, I thought I should tell you that I've now seen the entire season (courtesy of a Showtime screener) and ... I loved it!  In fact, I think Season 4 is flat out the best season of Californication, including the excellent first.

The ending was so satisfying, that it could work as the conclusion not just of this upcoming season, but the entire series.   But I hope that's not the case.

Along the way, we have real surprises and turns in the plot, and some of the best writing in the series, coming not only from Hank's mouth but the Runkles.  As I said in my preview review yesterday, this season has a kinship with Entourage, and Curb Your Enthusiasm as well.   Although Hank was always a writer and Runkle his agent, the business part of that relationship is well presented in Season 4.   There are also some superb courtroom scenes - funny and serious - like a Law and Order on crack.

I know - you'd like to know if Hank and Karen stay together.   All that I'll tell you is that the ending seemed right, deeply so.  Hank, despite his self-admitted flaw, always had a good heart.

You're in for a treat starting January 9.

See also Californication Season 4: Sneak Preview Review (No Big Spoilers)

See also (Season 2): Sneak Preview of Californication Anew ... Comes ... To an End, Laughing

and reviews of Season One: 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5 ... 6 ... 7 ... 8 ... 9 ... 10 ... 11: Pivitol Mia ... Californication Comes ... To a Season's End

---

                 Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Car, eHarmony, eMusic, Mozy, Zazzle

---

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

Californication Season 4: Sneak Preview Review (No Big Spoilers)

So I've watched about half of the new season (4) of Californication - courtesy of  a Showtime screener. I'll be watching the rest tonight, but thought I check in here first were a few tantalizing tidbits about what I've seen (no real spoilers, but if you don't want to know anything at all about this fine new season, don't read on).

First, I'm enjoying Season 4 more than Season 3.   Hank is tougher, leaner, meaner than he was in the last season - comes, I guess, of being in jail rather than a classroom (but not to worry, he's not in prison that long, and still gets plenty).   And the issues that Hank must navigate and struggle with are much more life and death.

Here are some nuggets -

• Mia plays a major role.   So does an actress that looks a lot like her.  I'll leave it to you to pick whom Hank sleeps with.
• There's hope for Charlie and Marcy - a least, a little - and the key is it's more than psychological.
• There's a hot lawyer.
• Hank's writing again.
• Hank throws more punches than in any other season, some of them to cops.
• There's a movie in the making - making this season of Californication reminiscent in good ways of Entourage.
• I was laughing out loud over a scene with Runkle and a monkey - one of the funniest scenes I've ever seen on television.

The premiere of the new season is January 9 - you'll love it!

See also How Californication Ends


See also (Season 2): Sneak Preview of Californication Anew ... Comes ... To an End, Laughing

and reviews of Season One: 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5 ... 6 ... 7 ... 8 ... 9 ... 10 ... 11: Pivitol Mia ... Californication Comes ... To a Season's End

---

                 Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Car, eHarmony, eMusic, Mozy, Zazzle

---

---

The Plot to Save Socrates




"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book 

24 Season 8 Hour 5: Renee's True Cover

The taut, riveting Hour 5 of 24 Season tonight was mostly about Renee - her back story, her current situation, her relationship with Vlad, her cover.

First, Vlad is another tough, head man in the Russian mafia, played by Callum Keith Rennie, late of Californication and Battlestar Galactica, in two memorable roles.  In 24, Vlad can broker a deal with the Russian arms dealer Bazhaev we met last week (played by Jurgen Prochnow - who for some reason I most remember as Duke Leto Atreides in the 1984 version of Dune).   Renee's mission is therefore to get to Vlad, to get to Bazhaev, so CTU can intercept the nukes.

But Vlad's not easily fooled, to say the least.   Renee has Jack's live updates in her ear, supplied by Chloe.  In a classic 24 scene, Vlad asks Renee a question not in the briefing material.  Renee stalls long enough to save her life and let Chloe get Jack->Renee the information.   But Vlad's still not completely convinced.  He switches cars and eludes Jack.  He kills the Russian guy who had his hand chopped off last week by Renee (guy has no luck).  Then he questions Renee and tries one more time to break her cover.

Renee convinces him, by indicating she'd just as soon die if he doesn't want the arms deal she's offering.   Vlad recognizes that she's not the same woman he knew six years ago - there's something different, colder, in her eyes.  But certainly no FBI or any government agent could indicate so truly a willingness to die ... a hardening of the soul ... So Renee succeeds, at least this far, in her cover, because the part of her outlook that's become toughened, calloused, is not a cover at all.

Other elements of the story have Bazhaev's son Josef (David Anders) defying his father and seeking a doctor for his brother, suffering from radiation poisoning, and Katee Sackoff's character going back to her apartment to meet the man from her former life who is blackmailing her.   But at this point in Day 8, it's all Renee - with Jack - and that's a pretty good story indeed.


5-min podcast review of 24

See also Season 8 reviews: Hours 1 and 2 ... Hours 3 and 4


And see also Season 7 reviews: Hours 1 and 2 ... Hours 3 and 4 ... Hour 5 ... Hour 6 ... Hour 7 ... Hour 8 ... Hour 9 ... Hour 10 ... Hours 11-12 ... Hour 13 ... Hour 14 ... Hour 15 ... Hour 16 ... Hour 17 ... Hour 18 ... Hour 19 ... Hour 20 ... Hour 21 ... Hour 22  ... Hours 23-24 


And see also Season 6 reviews: Hours 1 and 2 ... Hours 3 and 4 ... Hour 5 ... Hour 6 ... Hour 7 ... Hours 8 and 9 ... Hour 10 ... Hour 11 ... Hour 12 ... Hour 13 ... Hour 14 ... Hour 15 ... Hour 16 ... Hour 17 ... Hour 18... Hour 19 ... Hour 20 ... Hour 21 ... Hour 22 ... Hours 23-24

---

---

Heroes Meets The L Word in 4.5

An excellent episode 4.5 of Heroes last night - in fact, the best episode of the new season - in which we get some good progress on Claire's story...

Turns out that Claire's roommate Gretchen (Californication's Madeline Zima) is the not the source of Claire's worst problems. Gretchen didn't kill Claire's original room mate, nor is she trying to keep Claire from making friends at school, nor is she stalking Claire for any reason other than -

Gretchen has a crush on Claire, and gives her a pretty deep kiss, which Claire - surprised but certainly not repelled - permits. Raises some interesting possibilities, and it's good to see that Madeline Zima is being true to her frisky Californication history.

But if not Gretchen, who is the potentially deadly adversary for Claire? A sorority girl, who is really working for Samuel's increasingly more nefarious carnival group.

Meanwhile, Peter's also finding romance, in a tender story with Emma, who sees colors for sounds, and at first has no interest in Peter. But he's picked up her power - an heroic kind of synaesthesia - and by the end of the episode, they're making nice music together. Just music for now.

And Sylar is slowly regaining his identity, after being apparently killed again, but recovering, because he does have Claire's powers. Will Sylar turn out a better person in his gradual self-reconstruction?

Not likely. On the other hand, Samuel's people may well be the worst threat.

See also Heroes Season 4 Premiere: Metaphysics, University, Carnival

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...





Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

Heroes Season 4 Premiere: Metaphysics, University, and Carnival

Heroes returned for Season 4 last night, with a two-hour premiere that was less apocalyptic than usual, and therefore I actually found more enjoyable. For the first time I can recall with Heroes, I was able to sit down and relax with it. In part this was because of the story lines, in part this was because the heroes are almost becoming old friends that we haven't seen in a few months, and it was good to see again.

Among the highlights, Sylar killed Nathan at the end of Season 3 and shape shifted into Nathan, but Angela got Matt Parkman to make Sylar in Nathan's body think he (Sylar) is really Nathan. But Parkman learns he has a price to pay - Sylar's persona is now inhabiting part of Parkman's head, and he comes out to advise and needle Parkman and otherwise make life difficult for him. We've of course seen this set-up before with Baltar and Six on Battlestar Galactica, and even with House and Amber, but Zachary Quinto did a good job of it anyway as Parkman's internal nemesis.

Over in Tokyo, we do get some bad news - Hiro is dying - but, as always, nothing is necessarily permanent with time travel. I've got to admit that I'm always in the mood for a time travel story, and Heroes has done well with such threads over the years. Hiro at first vows he'll never again try to change the past - he realizes, in prime metaphysician form, that it's too dangerous (and he's right) - but he goes back more than a decade into the past anyway, and does a good deed for Ando's love life. He accidentally stops Ando from spilling a slushy all on Kimiko (Hiro's sister), which open the door to their falling in love. The takeaway for Hiro: he now knows he can change the past for the better, and he'll use his powers to correct his own mistakes in the past, the punishing metaphysics of time travel notwithstanding.

Apropos such high falutin' terminology like metaphysics, Claire's a freshman in college now, and so is Gretchen (new to Heroes, played by Madeline Zima from Californication, which will also be back on Showtime this Sunday). HRG's turning into about as good a guy we've so far seen, and he's creating an alliance with Tracy.

At the other side of the spectrum from university life, there are a new group of possible villains led by Samuel, centered around a carnival. Too soon to tell yet what they're really up to, but like most else in this premiere they were refreshing to see.

I'll keep you letting you know how it all works out.


8-min podcast review of Heroes


See also reviews of Season 3 Heroes Gets Lost ... Heroes 3 Begins: Best Yet, Riddled with Time Travel and Paradox ... Sylar's Redemption and other Heroes and Villains Mergers ... Costa Nuclear ... Hearts of Gold and the Debased ... Seeing the Future Trumps Time Travel ... Superpowered Chess with Shifting Pieces ... Villains and Backstories ... The Redemption of Sylar ... Thoughts on the Eclipse, Part I ... The Lore of the Comic Book Store ... Hiro's Time Traveling Closure ... Augmented ... Shades of Recalibration ... Baby, Rebel, and Last Fantasy ... All that Shape Changes Remains the Same? ... Season 3 Finale: Hopeful Deceptions

---

Levinson News Clips podcast reviews of Lost, 24, Fringe, Battlestar Galactica, Big Love, Weeds, more

I thought you might enjoy this Levinson News Clips podcast player, where you can hear my 5-10 minute reviews and analyses of Lost, 24, Fringe, Battlestar Galactica, Big Love, Weeds, Californication, The Closer, and more ... including, starting next month, True Blood...

You can put this player right on your own site, by clicking the embed button on the right side, and copying the code. (You first click to start the podcast. Look for the < > icon on the right - it's the third one down - and it contains the embed code.)

Many of these podcasts also have ads for Levinson News Clips sponsors - Angie's List, Avis Car Rental, Budget Rent-A-Car, eHarmony, eMusic, NurtriSystem - which offer special discounts (for example, 25% off on Angie's List). You'll find links to the coupons and coupon codes below the podcast player.





25% Off on Angie's List!
Angie's List Promotional Code


10% or $30 Off on Avis Cars!
Avis Rent a Car Coupon Code


10% or $30 Off Budget Cars!
Budget Car Rental special code


1 month free on eHarmony!
eHarmony special code


free MP3s on eMusic!
eMusic Trial Code


20% Off GoDaddy Hosting!
code LEV20H

24 Season 7 Hour 20: SPECTRE on a Webinar

Well, Tony continues to look and behave like an unambiguously, at last revealed bad guy in tonight's Hour 20 of 24 Season 7. He kills two FBI guys in cold blood to make his escape, kisses the red-head who gave the poison pill to Hodges last week and convinces her to sell his plan to the league of bad guys to deploy the bio-weapon right away. Even Jack is sure Tony is bad.

But, call me loyal to a fault, I still am not. Neither is Chloe - called back to the FBI to work the CTU computers that the President has ordered back online at Jack's recommendation. At least, Chloe can't quite believe that Tony is bad.

And Jack is not in the greatest mental shape. In the best scene of the evening, Jack opens up verbally on Janis, who is less than thrilled to see CTU computers pulled out of storage. Jack rages at her to stop whining, and says - twice - that President David Palmer ordered the CTU computers back into the breach. Right order, wrong President.

I also admit that I was even glad to see Tony kiss Cara Bowden (played by Amy Price-Francis of Californication) - he's been hurting every since he lost Michelle (who is now on Lost - actress Reiko Aylesworth, that is). And the coming attractions promise a huge twist - so there's still room in that twist for Tony to redeem himself. What does he really want from the new, executive ring of bad guys who meet like SPECTRE in a webinar.

Meanwhile, the dislikable daughter of the President is taking matters into her own hands about Hodges, and involving Aaron, which should be interesting....

And the clock keeps ticking...

See also: Hours 1 and 2 ... Hours 3 and 4 ... Hour 5 ... Hour 6 ... Hour 7 ... Hour 8 ... Hour 9 ... Hour 10 ... Hours 11-12 ... Hour 13 ... Hour 14 ... Hour 15 ... Hour 16 ... Hour 17 ... Hour 18 ... Hour 19

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...





Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

Californication Season 2 Comes to an End Laughing

Last night's Season 2 finale of Californication on Showtime had what has to be one of the funniest, falling-down-laughing scenes I've ever seen on television. Hank had been mumbling all season that he wasn't sure if he was the father of Sonja's baby. He said it again, a few times, right before the baby came out ... and, ta da! ... the baby is black! Hank was right, he's off the hook, Sonja realizes the father was an African-American barista she had forgotten about, and Hank's "Yes!" victory air-pound on the floor is hilarious!

Life is working out pretty well for just about all the other characters in Californication - Becca's boyfriend loves her, Karen has a job back in New York, she's feeling good about Hank and happy to leave Becca in his good keeping, Hank's even ok with Mia going on tour with his book - yeah, life's taking a good turn for everyone - with the exception of course of Runkle, whose masturbation once again gets him into trouble.

And I guess life didn't work out too well, either, for Lew Ashby, who died last week. He was a great character, though - the musical equivalent to Hank's writer - and Hank's book about him could well be the beginning of a new day for Hank's writing.

Speaking of writing, Tom Kapinos gets big creds for sparkling great dialog in Californication. David Duchovny continues to be perfect as Hank, so does Evan Handler as Runkle, and you couldn't ask for anything more from Callum Keith Rennie as Lew. The women were all fine, but I especially liked the newcomers Daisy (Carla Gallo), Janie (Mädchen Amick), and Surfer Girl (Michelle Lombardo), who, come to think of it, was also on in 2007. Anyway, I hope we see all of them back next year, and hear more Warren Zevon, whose "Keep Me in Your Heart" was a great theme for last night.



See also: Sneak Preview of Californication Anew and reviews of Season One: 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5 ... 6 ... 7 ... 8 ... 9 ... 10 ... 11: Pivitol Mia ... Californication Comes ... To a Season's End


podcast review of Californication, Season One

---

Sneak Peek Review of Californication Anew

Showtime's Californication resumes next Sunday with Season 2. I saw the first four episodes - hey, it's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it. Here's a no-spoiler preview review with some of the highlights....

The show's a little darker and sparkier this year. Although Hank's with Karen, he's getting into hot waters of various kinds almost from the beginning. Becca's growing up, and hasn't lost a bit of her edge and style. And-

Let me mention, before I forget, that there's definitely some full front nudity. Same delights as first season.

Back to the new stories. I think the best new part of the plot is Lew Ashby - well played by Callum Keith Rennie. He's a rock star, maybe over the hill, and is in effect the musical equivalent of Hank. They don't precisely parallel, but have enough in common that Lew could be Hank if he had chosen guitar over computer keyboard.

Runkle's in worse, and thus darkly funnier, shape than ever. Paula Marshall's back as Sonja - remember Hank and the painting from last season? - and she's going to play a much more important role this year.

As with last season, Hank can't seem to get a break. But his surprising mixture of licentiousness and responsibility - at least, to his family and friends, if not to himself - makes Californication, even if it wasn't easy on the eyes, a show to look forward to....

See also: Californication Season 2 Come to an End Laughing

Reviews of Californication Season One episodes: 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5
... 6 ... 7 ... 8 ... 9 ... 10 ... 11: Pivitol Mia ... Californication Comes ... To a Season's End

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

Mad Men, Jon Hamm, David Duchovny, Atonement Win Golden Globes!

Well, Mad Men, Jon Hamm, David Duchovny, Atonement have won Golden Globes!

There are a lot of other winners, of course, but the above are the ones I'm cheering about.

Mad Men on AMC was the most original, powerful new series of the year - which is not taking anything away from Showtime's The Tudors (Henry VIII) and HBO's Big Love (polygamy today), which were also superb, also nominated, and I loved. Jon Hamm was magnificent as Don Draper in Mad Men - but I wouldn't have been unhappy, either, had nominee Michael C. Hall won it for Showtime's delightful serially killing Dexter. And nominees Jonathan Rhys Meyers in The Tudors, Bill Paxton in Big Love and Hugh Laurie in House gave powerhouse performances, too. It was a great year for riveting drama on television. That's why I call this the Platinum Age.



David Duchovny as Hank Moody in Showtime's Californication was fall-down-on-the-floor laughing - as hilarious a savvy, comedic performance as ever I've seen.

And Atonement - which my wife and I saw a few weeks ago - is an original masterpiece of a movie. I would have reviewed it here in Infinite Regress already, had not Presidential politics jumped in the way. I will review Atonement here in the next few weeks or months.

In the meantime, links to my reviews of Mad Men, The Tudors, Big Love, Dexter, and Californication follow. The link brings you to my review of the first episode, which contains links to my reviews of all the others...



reviews of Mad Men begin with Cigarette Companies and Nixon Coming
reviews of The Tudors begin with History So Colorful You Can Taste It
reviews of Big Love begin with Big Love Resumes
reviews of Dexter begin with Dexter's Back!
reviews of Californication begin with Californication Going On Mondays

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...





Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

Looking In on The L Word...

Long before women were being wittily, hilariously, so coolly bedded almost round the clock by Hank Moody in Californication, they were being wittily, hilariously, coolly bedded around the clock by ... women, in The L Word, on Showtime.

Californication and Weeds are often cited (by me and others) as the spear carriers of Showtime's sweep into first place as the most innovative story telling network on cable, but this leap forward really started with The L Word, which debuted its 5th Season last Sunday.

The series has been and still is in a class by itself. It is more daring than HBO's Big Love - lesbian sex is more radical than polygamy. It explores more nuances in sexual relationships than HBO's Tell Me You Love Me. And The L Word of course has more women in positions of power and not in power than Weeds.

But The L Word feels most like Californication. Both shows take place in California, and both are intimately intertwined with writing, movie-making, and their travails, as well as sex.

My favorite characters in The L Word, however, are not in the movie or publishing business. Bette is a museum director who becomes dean of a school of design. Maybe my being a professor makes me naturally relate to her, but Jennifer Beals' performance is a perfect mix of primness and passion. She has been a pleasure to see on screen since Flashdance, and is only getting better.

Katherine Moennig is also superb as Shane in The L Word. She's usually up for sleeping with just about any woman, but brings a refreshing understanding of - or at least, an attempt to understand - the subtleties of every relationship she's in or wants into. Shane is a hairdresser, not an academic or a writer. But she thinks more than any other character on the series.

I've seen the first four episodes of the new season, and it's lots of fun, with serious themes including life in prison and the military woven in, and lots of other top-notch acting talent including Cybill Shepherd and Pam Grier, a plus in any scene they may appear.

Highly entertaining, thought provoking, and recommended, and I'll be back here with more reviews as this bright new season of The L Word progresses.

See also The L Word Concludes This Season with Powerful Lessons

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...





Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

Four Gems from Showtime Get Nominated for Golden Globes//Dexter Contest Right Here!

I was delighted to find out the following today, in the Golden Globe Nominations announced for television ...

Best Television Series - Drama
The Tudors

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
Michael C Hall, Dexter
Johnathan Rhys Meyers, The Tudors

Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical
Californication

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical
David Duchovny, Californication

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

Now, there are worthy and wonderful shows and acting talent from venues other than Showtime in the nominations - including some Infinite Regress favorites like Mad Men and Big Love - but I am especially pleased that Infinite Regress reviewed almost every episode of the four Showtime series, and gave them pretty much rave reviews at the time. You can see the Infinite Regress reviews by clicking on the titles, which will bring you to my review of the first episode of each of the series, with links to subsequent reviews.

The Tudors was a wonderful blend of intellectual history, great acting, and lust. Californication was a writer's delight, and never was short of laughing-out-loud-hilarious. Weeds had a riveting, splash-in-your-face season. And Dexter's second season, concluding this Sunday, is better than the first, and about the best show on television right now.

The face of television is changing, and very much for the better. Cable shows have three out of five nominations in several major Golden Globe television categories. And Showtime is clearly giving HBO a run for its money. All of this is great for the viewer. I'll be writing more about these trends soon.

In the meantime, and apropos Dexter, I wanted to let you know that I have three big Dexter posters all set to give away in a brand new contest!

I'll be posting my review of the Dexter season finale shortly after it's over this Sunday. Come back here then, and at the very end of the review, you'll find a question about Dexter. The first three people who email the correct answer to me will get the Dexter poster, put in the mail the next day.

See you on Sunday...

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...





Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

Californication Comes ... To a Season's End

Californication concluded its delightful first season on Showtime last night with an hilarious, savvy, altogether satisfying 12th episode.

I won't tell you the very ending, in case you haven't seen it. But I will say it was 100% motivated.

What I will tell you is that David Duchovny was spectacular, as he was throughout the entire season. And Tom Kapinos' writing was brilliant as it's been throughout the entire series, too.

My favorite line last night was "the ass is always greener" ... this said by Marci - who has had many of the best lines on the show - in some advice she is giving to Karen. This seems only apropos, since I said in my review of the first episode that it had me laughing my ass off.

Mia's character was also written beautifully - her public statement that she and Hank actually didn't have sex helps Hanks, of course, but it also helps her - because her father otherwise would never let her go ahead with her publishing. Fiction about an afternoon with an older man he might tolerate, not autobiography... Madeline Zima did a standout job in playing this super-precocious 16-year old.

In the end, Californication was really not about sex or nudity. It was about attitude. About not always ideal but more or less healthy attitude. About hard luck and good luck and failure in the face of success ... and vice versa, in professional as well as personal life.

There's a lot more of Hank Moody's story to be told - professionally and personally - and I'm very looking forward to seeing him and the sparkling cast back in action next year.

Check out Showtime's Californication wiki for contests.

See reviews of other Californication episodes: 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5
... 6 ... 7 ... 8 ... 9
... 10 ... 11: Pivitol Mia ...


5 minute podcast review of Californication

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

Californication Continues: 11: Pivotal Mia

Mia (fetchingly played by Madeline Zima) was directly or indirectly the stimulus for all the crucially important developments in Episode 11 of Californication on Showtime.

As we saw last week, she's pretending to be the author of Hank's comeback manuscript. Since her sleeping with and slapping Hank is the core of the story in the manuscript - not to mention, in a sense, the story of Californication - she has an understandable sense of proprietorship in the novel...

Her bringing it to Dani, which inevitably means Charlie, brings Charlie and Hank closer than they've been through the series. Charlie, never better, recognizes that the manuscript is Hank's, and will stand by him whatever Hank chooses to do about Mia's masquerade. (He can't do much, if Mia keeps to this course, because he doesn't want to be exposed for sleeping with someone underage - even if Hank didn't know it at the time and Mia looks much older than sixteen.)

Meanwhile, Mia's theft of Hank's manuscript also has an indirect, but even more powerful, impact on Hank's life. His daughter Becca (well played Madeleine Martin) decides to move in with Hank, in part because the great novel he was writing in New York didn't pan out (of course not, because Hank thought he'd lost it), and Becca is worried that with Karen marrying the bore Bill, Hank will be left with no support...

Which has the surprising effect - since Karen can't bear to be without Becca - of bring Karen to Hank and Becca's place, late at night, when they're both asleep....

We'll she stay?

I'm betting yes ...

But it just goes to show that, although I would never want it happening to me, losing your novel and then having someone sell it as theirs can have unintended beneficial results...

See reviews of other Californication episodes: Californication Going On Mondays ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5 ... 6 ... 7 ... 8 ... 9 ... 10 ... 12: Californication Comes ... To a Season's End

5 minute podcast review of Californication

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

Californication Continues: 10

A soft episode of Californication last night, in which little progress was made in any of the main relationships, but some possibilities are emerging.

The most interesting thread was Mia taking the only copy of Hank's new manuscript (he thinks his only copy was stolen when his car was jacked) to Charlie's office ... where it falls into Dani's hands. She loves it, and being that she wants to be an agent, talks Mia into letting her represent it. Intriguing possibilities here: both the author (Mia) and the agent (Dani) are pretending to their parts. The only thing real about this is the excellence of Hank's manuscript - taken, of course, from really happened between Hank and Mia.

Otherwise, we were treated to a threesome of Hank, Charlie, and a woman Charlie wants to ravage. She's only willing to let Charlie do that if Hank is part of the act...

Charlie's wife is coming around to realizing she's happiest with Charlie, and Karen moved a little closer - once again - to realizing that she and Hank are really soul mates who should be together, but ...

I'm looking forward to some really decisive episodes, such as the two previous pieces on Californication.

See reviews of other Californication episodes: Californication Going On Mondays ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5 ... 6 ... 7 ... 8 ... 9 ... 11: Pivitol Mia ... 12: Californication Comes ... To a Season's End


5 minute podcast review of Californication

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

Californication Continues: 9: The Manuscript

I gave this review of Californication, Episode 9, a title, because that was its central theme: the manuscript. Or, more precisely, the manuscript for a new short novel - or, as Hank called it, a "novella" (I love that term - and that length manuscript - one of my most successful publications was a novella - "Loose Ends," a time travel story, that was published in Analog Magazine in the late 1990s.)*

But back to Hank: he's written a novella while in New York. He had gone there for his father's funeral, after a great night of intimacy in all ways with Karen, and stayed on in New York to do some writing. Karen had inspired him.

Back in L.A., Hank wants Karen to read it. He's always counted on her reading of his work. He also wants her to marry him.

Charlie's thrilled about the new manuscript - money, money, money. Speaking of which, Hank gets a big unexpected royalty check for the movie made from his novel....

Mia's thrilled about the manuscript, too, and wants to read it. (Hank lets us know at some point that it's about a guy who sleeps with an under-age woman, but doesn't know about that at time ... hmmm ... Hank writes from what he knows.)

So everyone's pretty happy at this point - a rarity in Californication.

But not Karen, who, it seems, wants to stay with that stiff of a fiance, after all (I don't really believe her).

Things even turn worse, suddenly, for Hank .... but there's a great surprise ending, and, I won't give it away, except to say, it's all about that manuscript....

Great show tonight.
=============================================================

*More about Loose Ends

See reviews of other Californication episodes: Californication Going On Mondays ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5 ... 6 ... 7 ... 8 ... 10 ... 11: Pivitol Mia ... 12: Californication Comes ... To a Season's End


5 minute podcast review of Californication

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

Californication Continues: 8

A psychologically rich and very satisfying Episode 8 of Californication on Showtime last night, occasioned by the death of Hank's father Al (well played by vet actor Mark Margolis).

We get an excellent back story, in which we see not only Hank's relationship with his father, but the crumbling of his relationship with Karen (when they were still together), all occurring as the accursed "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is being filmed. (Again, I gotta say that, as a science fiction author, I wish I had such aggravations.)

The explanatory power of this back story - shot in a slightly different lighting - reminded me, of all things, of Lost, and its back stories. As in Lost, the back story in Californication last night moved the story forward in a critically important way. Hank and Karen are falling apart in the back story, and pulling closer together in the present.

The last five minutes were especially satisfying. Karen finally sleeps with Hank. Perhaps it's partly a mercy act, but Karen clearly enjoys it, and, as we already knew, she has feelings for Hank.

They're flying off to New York for Al's funeral in two planes, but I'm looking to seeing if and how they draw closer together in the next episodes.

See reviews of other Californication episodes: Californication Going On Mondays ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5 ... 6 ... 7 ... 9 ... 10 ... 11: Pivitol Mia ... 12: Californication Comes ... To a Season's End


5 minute podcast review of Californication

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

Californication Continues: 7

I guess no one - not even Hank Moody - can have sex every minute of the day, or during most of every episode, and so last night's episode of Californication - #7 - was pretty quiet in comparison to other episodes.

Indeed, Weeds, on Showtime just prior to Californication, had a far hotter, funnier scene with Andy at a porno shoot.

As I mentioned in my review last week, the supporting team of Charlie and his two women - secretary and wife - seem to be getting more sex time than Hank. The three actually tried a menage-a-trois last night, with unsurprisingly unexceptional results. Marci (the wife) did remark that Dani (the secretary) had a "great ass," and there's no denying that.

Meanwhile, Hank and Karen do seem to be drawing a little closer, sexually and romantically - meaning, Karen is not resisting Hank quite as much as she was at the beginning of the season - and it will be interesting to see where this goes.

Here's my lame prediction: the two will sleep together at the end of this season, and ... Hank will realize that he really wants to be with the redhead, Meredith...

Not a spoiler, just a prediction, chances are I'm wrong ... but we'll see...

See reviews of other Californication episodes: Californication Going On Mondays ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5 ... 6 ... 8
... 9 ... 10 ... 11: Pivitol Mia ... 12: Californication Comes ... To a Season's End


5 minute podcast review of Californication

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book