Bosch: Legacy: Even Better than Bosch!

As you readers of this blog may recall, I said Bosch was the best cop show on television.  I was therefore not too happy that it concluded, and I expected to be at least somewhat disappointed by its sequel Bosch: Legacy, which I just got around to watching on Amazon's new FreeVee service.  Well, I now think just the opposite: I thought the first season of Bosch: Legacy, which continues the story of Bosch, now a private detective, and his beloved daughter Maddie, now a rookie LA cop, was better even than Bosch.

First and foremost, the acting was better than ever, with Titus Welliver as Bosch, Madison Lintz as his daughter Maddie, and Mimi Rogers as the other powerful character, defense attorney Honey Chandler.  And the stories were both more plentiful -- and, as always interweaving -- and by and large even better than what we saw in previous Bosch seasons.

Not only that, there were more surprises.

[Spoilers follow ... ]

My favorite was the revelation that Ida (played by Kate Burton) killed Whitney Vance (good to see William Devane back on the screen, if not in much action).   The Russian assassin was handled well, and the Russians as bad guys rang especially true with what that monster Putin has been doing in Ukraine (which played no part in Bosch, but I'm just saying).

About the only thing I didn't like as much as in the original Bosch was the theme song.  But, in all fairness, Caught a Ghost's "Can't Let Go" is a flat-out masterpiece and among the best theme songs ever sung at the beginning of a TV series.  And I guess I would have liked to have seen a little more of Jerry Edgar, but I'm not inclined to quibble, because what we did get is a Harry Bosch really coming into his own as a human being and his daughter becoming a truly impressive adult.

Count me in for the next season.

See also Bosch: First Half: Highly Recommended ... Bosch: Second Half as Fine as the First ...  Bosch Season 2: Dragnet with Uber ... Bosch 3: Best Season So Far ... Bosch 4: Delivering and Transcending the Genre ... Bosch 5: Room with a Killer View ... Bosch Season 6: The Best Police on Television ... Bosch Season 7: Can't Let Go

                   another kind of police story 

24 Season 9 Finale: For Whom the Silent Clock Tolls

Well, in the powerful, heartbreaking, excellent Season 9 finale of 24 just on Fox tonight, we finally get a real silent clock.  And though President Heller collapsed in last week's coming attractions, the silent was not for him but for Audrey.

Before we get to that, let me first say what an outstanding performance William Devane gave throughout this whole 9th Season of 24, but never more so than tonight.  His "I'll forget" speech, given to the British PM about Audrey and everything as he makes his way to board Air Force One back to the U.S., was one of the best ever delivered on 24, and Shakespearean in its harrowing, haunting beauty.

Jack's relationship with Chloe was also brilliantly played out tonight - and Kiefer Sutherland's acting was as outstanding as ever in this role, too.   It makes perfect sense that Jack would turn himself over to the Russians to free Chloe.  And this certainly leaves open lots of room for another season, which I hope we'll see, someday - next year or soon after would be my preference.

Kate was a strong character throughout but tonight was not her best hour. Not because Audrey got fatally wounded right next to her - this was not Kate's fault - but because she didn't do anything to help Jack in the aftermath.   Why didn't she look into what was going on, if Jack didn't tell her, and have the CIA mount some sort of supporting attack on the Russians, so Jack as well as Chloe could be free?

A part of Jack wanted to die - hence the gun he put to his head before deciding to vent his rage on Chang and his men, and the sword on Chang's neck - and a part of Jack no doubt also wanted to be taken prisoner by the Russians.   But he still asked Chloe to look in on his family, and someone in Kate's position should have been looking out a little more for Jack at the end.

This season vividly showed that 24 still has the juice it had for its first eight seasons, and maybe even more.   The jumping ahead 12 hours for the last segment worked just fine, meaning the 12 hours for the season worked as well as the 24, maybe even better.  24 is second to none in adrenalin and plots that are both complex and fast moving, and I say bring on some more.  This season hasn't slaked my interest in this narrative in the slightest, it only stoked it.

See also 24 Season 9 Hours 1 and 2: The Sheer Intelligent Adrenalin Is Back ... 24 Season 9.3: Shades of Disloyalties ... 24 Season 9.4: Brass Tacks and Strong Women ... 24 Season 9.5: Jack and Audrey .. 24 Season 9.6: Expendable In-Laws ... 24 Season 9.7: Silent Clock in President Heller's Future ... 24 Season 9.8: Clearing the Deck ... 24 Season 9.9: The Reason for No Silent Clock, Misleading Coming Attractions, and the New Villain ...24 Season 9.10: Every Card on the Table ... 24 Season 9.11: Partial Redemption

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

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

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24 Season 9, Hours 1 and 2: The Sheer Intelligent Adrenaline Is Back

Jack is back on 24 and the first two hours look as good or better than ever.

In the first hour, Jack allows himself to be captured by the CIA's London branch - he's a wanted "terrorist" - in order to save Chloe, who's in custody herself as an Edward Snowden-type hacker of Defense Department files. The CIA branch features three notable people: Kate (played by Yvonne Strahovski of Dexter fame), Steve (played by Benjamin Bratt of Law and Order and Private Practice), and Gbenga Akinnagbe of The Wire and more).  The star power is definitely there, and Kate looks to be the most intelligent - as Jack notes in the second hour.   In the first two episodes, Kate is Jack's most effective opponent, nearly getting the better of him a couple of times. My guess is she will be a powerful ally in the world-moving battle ahead.

That battle will center around an attempt to take out U.S. President Heller (played by William Devane) with an American drone while he's in London to seal a deal with the U.S. and the U.K.   Heller of course played a crucial role as U.S. Defense Secretary in previous seasons of 24.  On Day (Season) 9, Heller is not only President but apparently suffering from very early stages of Alzheimer's.  His daughter Audrey (played by Kim Raver, last seen in Revolution) was loved by Jack in previous seasons, and she loved him, but she lapsed into a catatonic state after being captured and worked over by the bad guys.  She's in much better shape now - looks better than she ever did -  and is married to Heller's Chief of Staff, Mark, played by Tate Donovan (who's been in a handful of series in the past few years, the best of which was Damages).   Mark appears to only want to help Heller, but something about him - maybe his zeal to show that Heller's mentality is not what it used to be - raises some suspicion about his ultimate motives, at least to me.

The pace is sharp and pounding as ever, and the plot may be even better than some of the past seasons, in which a series of attacks, sometimes by different forces, rolled out over the 24 hours.   This time it seems, for now, that we'll be treated to one major plot, with a tentacled web of intersecting stories.  The digital savvy in the story is best we've seen so far in 24, as befits the debut of this season in 2014.

Kiefer Sutherland as Jack, and Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe, are as strong as ever.  Jack looks a little older, but that actually ads a bit depth to his character. Relaunching an iconic series with a season that takes account of a four-year hiatus is no easy thing, but 24 looks to be off to a sharp start.  There's a fine mix of old and new here, respect for the past and the cutting-edge present.  And there's just nothing like this series for sheer intelligent adrenaline pumping through the veins.

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

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

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NCIS 8.2: Interns!

Maybe "I'm changing," Gibbs says on NCIS 8.2 last night, in reply to a question about why he's welcomed a cadre of interns to his NCIS operations, when previously he had expressed Gibbsonian dislike for the intern.   It's a good change.  The interns brought a lot to last night's episode, including an important discovery by Abby's intern, whom she first had disdained, a good dose of humor to Ducky's work, and an opportunity for McGee to put someone lower on the totem pole through his paces.

The story was also good - the team is investigating the kidnapping of a daughter of a Navy couple - Rebecca Mason's in a local school, where everyone in her classroom is knocked out by some strange gas, and her parents are overseas.   Her grandfather - Nicolas Mason played by William Devane - is thus the first family member Gibbs interviews.

A kidnapping of a child is a rarity on NCIS - in fact, I can't recall the last time this happened on the series - and soon something also unlikely happens:  Gibbs is fooled in his interview of Mason, who turns out to be head of a former top-secret government team, that goes back to Reagan.   Why didn't Gibbs see Nicolas was something more than just a civilian at first?   My guess is the kidnapping of a daughter stirred Gibbs' own deep emotions - we also see this in Gibbs' earlier response to DiNozzo - and slightly clouded his usually perceptive assessments of interviewees.   In any case, it made for good story development.

Lots of nice twists in this episode, including the ending, where the bad guy is revealed as the teacher in Rebecca's class (played by Sam Anderson - Bernard from Lost), and he's captured after Gibbs' engineers a feigned shooting of Nicolas by Ziva.   DiNozzo also has a fine, defining response to Conrad, an intern, who says DiNozzo and Ziva could make a fortune in the private sector.  DiNozzo snaps back, "then who would catch the bad guys?"

So will the interns continue?   Mr. Palmer understandably thinks it's getting too "crowded," but Gibbs has at least Conrad fill out an application for what may be a season-long position on the team.   The times on NCIS are definitely a changing...


5-min podcast review of NCIS

See also NCIS Back in Season 8 Action

And see ee also NCIS  ... NCIS 7.16: Gibbs' Mother-in-Law Dilemma ... NCIS 7.17: Ducky's Ties ... NCIS 7.18: Bogus Treasure and Real Locker ... NCIS 7.21: NCIS Meets Laura ... NCIS Season 7 Finale: Retribution

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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

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