'Grace' Wheels and Deals a Cold Case

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

Let me just say there are a select few of us who name our cars.

I have no problem admitting I am one.

Call it the Christine syndrome.

Or a Herbie warm, fuzzy isn’t-my-car-cute kinda thing.

I don’t actually know how or why it starts.

It just does. And you are either genetically predisposed to: a) feel as if your car is more than a car – it’s a part of your family and, as such, deserves to be named, pampered and taken care of as if it were a person; or, b) feel as if your car is a bucket of bolts and could care less what happens to it.

I’m the former. I name my car (James, thank you).

And so does Grace.

That 1981 Porsche is Connie.

And Grace gets just as worked up about her as I do about James – especially when something bad happens.

Case in point: last night, Connie gets her door accidentally ripped off by a drunk driver, which reveals a load of $200K+ that had been stashed in the driver’s side door for a l-o-n-g time.

Like, multiple owners, before-Grace-ever-owned-her long time.

Enter Grace taking on a … wait for it … cold case. Now, can I just say she could’ve called Detective Lilly Rush in Philly and solved the case in half the time. But seeing as Lil’ doesn’t own a car, I highly doubt Rush would’ve given a care as to treating Connie – now a piece of evidence – with a whole lot of reverence.

Come to think of it, neither did Rhetta.

Grace’s panic attacks not withstanding. And her having to rent the "purple buggy" - Rhetta's very appropriate moniker for Grace's temporary Chrysler PT Cruiser.

It turns out a rich ol’ real estate developer ripped off a casino back in the day, sped home to Oklahoma and killed a highway patrol officer in the process.

Oops.

Now, we know police departments do not take cop killings lightly. This was no exception. But justice came a couple of decades later than the OCPD would’ve preferred.

But the real important side story (aside from whether Connie would survive being put back together, or Mr. Oklahoma Sooner, Barry Switzer, making a guest appearance as himself as a previous owner of the Porsche) was Ham’s brother, who was serving time in Afghanistan, being killed in a raid gone bad.

As Kenny Johnson just recently told us, the next couple of episodes are going to be some emotionally challenging ones for Ham. And if this was any indication … wow, we better hold on to our hats and glasses.

Can we say … lose it?

With one brother now out of the picture, we were introduced to another: Nick, an art gallery owner (played nicely by John Conley, who Cold Case viewers will remember from the episode “Thrill Kill”).

He is none too fond of Grace

Read: thinks she's a w*ore.

And tells her so.

I already like this guy.

Yet another who doesn’t put up with Grace’s all-for-me routine. There’s no BS; he calls it as it is. Ironic he’s basically in agreement with Grace’s nephew, Clay, that Ham running around on his wife ain’t cool; and Ham being Grace’s boy toy isn’t cool, either.

And yet, we saw some serious flashes of the very deep connection Grace and Ham share, even if it is cluttered by unfaithful, selfish and adulterous reasons at the moment. When Grace gets shaken up on first learning about Ham’s bother’s disappearance, it was a surprise to me given it takes a helluva lot to crack the woman.

But Ham is a soft spot. As is Clay.

And how she deals with both continues to get interesting.

As does the show.

New episodes air Mondays at 10 p.m. on TNT. You can watch full episodes of the show anytime over on the show’s official Web site. You can also visit EmbraceYourGrace.com to share your stories of how you embrace your inner-Grace.

'The Closer' Dials H for Hysterical

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

In truth, it's not about dialing H or M.

Forget OMFG.

And LOL.

This one is clearly ROTFLMAO.

Translation (for everyone over the age of, say, 12): Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Arse Off.

My side still hurts today, folks.

How can a drama be so good at comedy?

Seriously, I didn’t think The Closer could out do last season’s coffin - down - the - staircase - watch - out - for - Bridezilla routine (as in, not a good idea to have Lieutenant Provenza as a pallbearer at a colleague’s funeral any time soon). Or season two’s Lieutenant Provenza / Lieutenant Flynn Dodger game outing gone bad (as in, we’ll just leave the dead body in the garage until we get back from our skybox seats at the game).

But that was before this season’s “Dial M For Provenza” – and yes, that would be an homage to the Hitchcock classic, Dial M For Murder, with a whole bunch of humor thrown in to make it an ICC: Insta-Closer Classic.

As if the show needed to get any better.

But it does – and it brought us more comedic relief at the expense of Lieutenant Provenza



The Case

Another Botox Barbie feeling as if she could just do better without hubby in the picture – no matter how many boob jobs he’s already paid for.

Enter an equally … how should we say … less than appreciative brother, and voilá you have a tag team murder for hire.

Except when you’re the subject of an undercover operation.

Which, of course, goes the way of the dogs when the 100-year-old Civic, which has all the evidence of this open and shut murder for hire case in the trunk, accidentally gets stolen during a stop for a bite to eat on the way home from the sting with said Botox Barbie suspect.

Gee, don’t ‘cha hate it when that happens?

In another Priority Homicide case of let’s - try - not - to - let - everyone - know - we - really - messed - this - up, BJ and the team have 48 hours to sort it out, or Lieutenant Provenza will be forced to resign.

Gee, don’t ‘cha hate it when that happens?

As Fritzy said, the FBI stopped manufacturing evidence a couple of decades ago, so BJ really was on her own.

As was Provenza.

But they do get it sorted it out.

‘Bro was the trigger man.

Barbie was sort of the brains.

Fill in your own punchline.


The Guest Star

We were tipped off by the cast on our TNT press day set visit that Jennifer Coolidge (of American Pie infamy) had put in one heck of a performance opposite G.W. Bailey.

And they weren’t kidding.

She could not have been better.

Every. Goofball. Moment.

From the diner sequence, where she casually watches the Civic get stolen whilst simultaneously quizzing Flynn and Provenza on being super-duper-sure all that evidence would convict her of conspiracy to commit murder; to running around hysterical on finding her husband actually is dead only to switch to instantaneous glee realizing she’ll be rich as a result; to her jabs at the lameness, incompetence and stupidity (not necessarily in that order) of the Los Angeles Police Department; to gabbing away on her cell phone as BJ and Provenza sit patiently waiting to interview her.

Name your moment folks.

They are all priceless.

And as we know, for everything else, there’s Mastercard


The Genius

As Kyra Sedgwick told us, the ability of this show to go from serious to silly without sacrificing what makes the show so compelling in the first place is a testament to the writing and the vision of the showrunners. They consistently amaze me. And to think Creator James Duff doesn’t believe they’ve come close to peaking as yet.

Like, how much better can they get?

Each season, I find out with episodes like this.


The Never Gonna Happen Resignation

With my own father nearing retirement after 35+ years on the Los Angeles Fire Department, I’m thankful he does not have an ex-wife whom he made a promise to split his pension on the day he retired.

Because clearly, by Provenza or Chief Pope’s example – both of whom did sign their lives, er, I mean pensions away – my dad would be working until he was 97-years-old, sitting behind a desk downtown, remembering when they used water to put out fires instead of beaming them into space aboard the Enterprise.

Me thinks Provenza just might actually have to be dragged feet first out of the LAPD.

Do we think the show could last that long?

At this rate of quality … yes.



New episodes air Mondays at 9 p.m. on TNT. You can also watch full episodes of the show anytime over on the show’s official Web site.

The Ties That Bind

I think Mary said it best when she said, "My family is going to be the death of me." And, they almost were this week! Brandi's tangled web managed to snag Mary and entangle her in a kidnapping scheme (apparently, they grabbed the wrong "hot sister"). I never doubted that Mary would get herself out of the dicey situation, I was just surprised that her mouth hadn't gotten her out sooner. Well, it would have had the FBI not blown her identity with a breaking news story about her disappearance. But what her mouth couldn't do, her physical strength and cop smarts could. With a little help from Marshall (who seemed a little too distraught over her kidnapping if you catch my drift) and Stan of course. Mary: 1, Drug Thugs: 0.

Brandi, Brandi, Brandi -- I'm really trying to like you. I mean, I'm going above and beyond, quite frankly, what's expected from a TV viewer. I try to focus on your strengths (as few as they may be) and thanks to your sheer awesomeness last week, you have a free pass from here on out, but I still find it difficult to place both of my feet firmly in your camp. You brought the frickin' drugs back into Mary's house for crap's sake! We all know where this is leading and it isn't going to be good for Mary, ergo, you. I will give you this, though, you're a million times better than your whiny, drama queen mother (and I'm not referring to her audition, but rather, her performance in the middle of it). Is there any chance next week's season finale will find Mary's mother taking the blame for the drugs, turning state's witness and getting relocated to Fargo to never be heard from again? Yeah, I didn't think so.

In Plain Sight airs Sunday nights on USA Network. If you missed this week's episode ("Stan By Me"), check it out for free at Hulu.com.

Bobby's Cold Feet

I don't know about all of you, but I'm having a really bad case of the "conflictzies" whereby my mind can't wrap itself around the idea of who should be with whom on My Boys. This used to be an easy answer for me: PJ and Brendan. Now? Not so much. And it isn't like I would be opposed to PJ and Brendan (rather, I'd be completely on board), but this entire season has had me questioning whether or not I should switch into the PJ/Bobby camp. I did, then I recanted and then I just forgot the whole thing when he decided to marry Elsa. Enter Bobby's good time brother, lots of sparks, a secret relationship and you have a whole new pairing with PJ. But, he turned out to be everything that Bobby forewarned about and I was left with that don't-let-the-door -hit-you-on-the-way-out feeling. And then we had last night's finale and I'm even more conflicted and confused. He came back! The b*stard came back and he made up for all the trouble he caused and I started thinking that maybe I was all wrong about him and maybe, just maybe, I should reconsider this PJ/Bobby's brother hook-up idea. That was until Bobby got all confused about marrying Elsa and knocked on PJ's door. And he saw his stinkin' brother in her room!! Ugh! Now what am I supposed to think? If Bobby's going to renege on this marriage thing, then he better make damn sure he and PJ have real, true feelings for each other or he might end up regretting his decision. I'm already regretting mine. I should have just stayed in the PJ/Brendan camp. It was a lot less complicated.

Meanwhile, Stephanie and Kenny were trying to forget about what happened between them the night before. In his room. With Kenny ending up with her bra. Yeah. They went there. Perhaps, there should be a new "what happens in..." saying since everyone seems to make some silly, "Oh god please let me forget this ever happened" mistakes at weddings. By the end of the episode, he was returning her bra and they were shaking hands to signify their official return to friends. Complications over for now. Not so for PJ, who has found herself square in the middle of a family love triangle. And we are square in the middle of another famous My Boys cliffhanger. Here's to next season starting sooner rather than later!

You can watch this season's episodes of My Boys at TBS.com.

PTR Exclusive: 'Saving Grace's' Kenny Johnson is That Guy (and it's a good thing)

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

Kenny Johnson is that guy.

The guy you want to have as your leading man.

The guy who brings to the screen a unique combination of intensity, compassion and sense of ease.

The guy who had never starred alongside a leading lady for any extended period of time in his career but wound up next to Holly Hunter in a twist of meant-to-be fate that, as a Cold Case viewer, now has me feeling not nearly so bad in having seen his role of Joseph Shaw cut short.

The guy who has definitely struck gold portraying the loyal, good-hearted yet emotionally confused Detective Ham Dewey on TNT’s hit series, Saving Grace.

And by the way … did we mention he's awfully cool, too?

It’s a known fact that everyone loves to talk to Kenny about his time as Curtis “Lem” Lemansky on The Shield. That seems especially true now as The Shield enters its final season, and fans anxiously await what everyone says will be one heck of a series finale.

But we’re different here at PTR.

And I confess I am one of three (or is it four?) people on the continent who: a) don’t watch The Shield; and, b) didn’t come to know Kenny through his role as Lem. Rather, I came to know him as Joseph Shaw, the only decent guy Detective Lilly Rush ever got her hands on over on Cold Case.

Fair enough, you might say.

But when I recently had the chance to chat with Kenny about all-things Ham and Grace, even I was surprised to learn that his limited time on Cold Case actually played a key role in how he came to be a part of Saving Grace, and thus, begin his segue into leading manhood.

“Paris Barclay, who directed a couple episodes of The Shield, was working at Cold Case at the time,” says Kenny. “He asked me to come in and meet with him to pitch this idea of Kathryn Morris’ character, Lilly Rush, having a boyfriend that might be on-going – a guy that would be good for her. So, in the episode of ‘Joseph,’ he gets introduced as this guy who had taken on his brother’s identity [and of whom] had been hiding for a year, yet ends up falling in love with Lilly [given it was Lilly who was assigned to investigate his case]. And, that was really my first time getting to play alongside a leading lady – or [play] a love interest – because I [had] always played the rebellious guy [who] had a lot of girls but never really had a [serious] girlfriend.”

Our readers know we lament the fact that Cold Case has consistently botched any attempt they’ve ever made at giving ol' Lil' a personal life. We hadn’t had a decent guy for her (read: no thug cop, no motorcycle reject) since the first season, and Kenny’s portrayal of Joseph gave us hope.

Temporarily.

Both for actor and viewers.

Despite the fact he was excited to take on the role, and shared a great rapport with series lead Kathryn Morris, Kenny says there was a great deal of uncertainty in what the producers wanted to do with the Joseph character.

“I was so up for Cold Case. Kathryn and I had really cool chemistry when we first met. We used to have the same acting teacher in the early 1990s – Larry Moss. And apparently, we were in class at the same time [though] I don’t remember,” he says with a laugh. “We have a lot of mutual friends, and we know a lot of the same people.

“She was also on a TV series called Pensacola Wings of Gold for a year with James Brolin,” Kenny continues. “[Even though] that whole cast got replaced by myself, Sandra Hess and Michael Trucco [for season two], we [still] knew each other from that time. So, when we met for Cold Case, we already had a lot in common, and we just sort of clicked. We played off each other really well. I had no idea how it was going to come out on screen, but I could feel a chemistry with her. I remember [the producers] saying, ‘Look, you know, we’ve had a lot of people with Kathryn that didn’t have that energy, but you do.’ So, they were really happy at first, and they originally had me for about 13 episodes. And, although I had always thought it was a really, really cool show, at the same time I kept thinking, ‘How am I going to fit in there? What are they going to do?’ I didn’t know how far or how deep they were going to take my character, and I didn’t want to just be ‘that guy’ - the guy that, every once in a while, just shows up to have these little scenes together with [Kathryn]. I kind of wanted it to be a little more in depth. And because I don’t think they could commit to that idea given they themselves didn’t know where it was going to go, we kind of cut it short in five episodes.”

Much to my chagrin. And yet, this actually was a good thing for Kenny. Cutting it short on Cold Case gave him a golden opportunity to audition for the role of Ham Dewey.

“When I left The Shield, I wanted to be smart, and whatever [I was going to do next] had to be equally as powerful to me in some way, shape or form [as it was on The Shield]. It had to really say something. One of the scripts I read was for Saving Grace. I thought the pilot was great and, of course, Holly Hunter was attached to it. I really dug the energy. It spoke to me – kind of like when I read the pilot for The Shield. I thought Saving Grace was different from anything I had seen, and if [a show like that] was willing to take a chance to go down [a certain] road [to] bring up things that will make people think, I wanted to be a part of it,” says Kenny.

But like everything in Hollywoodland, it was a long wait-and-see process for Kenny to determine whether the role of Ham would be his for sure.

“The audition didn’t come for almost a month and half to two months,” he says. “I didn’t hear anything about it. So, I went on to Cold Case, but as I said, it wasn’t like I was fully content there given so much was uncertain. So, as they were writing me off, I got the call from Saving Grace. I went in to audtion, like, two days after shooting my final episode of Cold Case [“Saving Sammy”]. [Creator and executive producer] Nancy [Miller] stood up and was like, ‘Great, great! I loved you in The Shield! I was sad they killed you off, and now Cold Case … what’s happening with that?’ When I told her I had just been written off, she asked me to come back in the next morning to audition again. They got my tape to Holly Hunter in New York, and a couple days later, they called to make me an offer.”

Now, if that's isn't a meant-to-be moment, I don't know what is, eh?

Totally, says Kenny.

“It was sooo meant to be! You know, my manager was home sick, and I thought maybe she was delusional [when she called to tell me about the offer]," he says with a laugh. "Holly had been looking for the guy and couldn’t find him. She just thought my energy was [Ham], and she didn’t want me to get taken by another [show]. She was like, ‘Get him now!’”

Nothing like having an Academy Award® winner instantly become your biggest fan. But, the admiration goes both ways, and the experience of working with Holly Hunter has been a phenomenal one for Kenny – both personally and professionally.

“I had been a fan of hers forever. I loved her in the Coen Brothers movies [Raising Arizona, O Brother, Where Art Thou?] to Always with [Steven] Spielberg. I just remember thinking, man, one day I would love to play opposite of that woman because she has such a beautiful energy and presence on screen. [So, in reading for the role of Ham], I was [totally thinking] I could play this, [but] then [when I was also supposed] be the love interest, I was, like, completely having panic attacks before I met her,” Kenny says laughing. “You never know how people’s energy are going to be together. But, the first time I met her to rehearse ... she’s just got this thing that sort of melts you. I remember looking into her eyes, and I felt so completely safe. It was just this thing where I knew it was going to be a great experience.”

“[During that first rehearsal], we read through the whole script without the directors or writers even saying anything to us – they just watched,” he continues. “And when we got done with our first read of all of the [Ham and Grace] scenes put together, she looked at me and said, ‘This is not easy stuff, but you’re making it seem like it’s actually simple.’ We obviously didn’t know how it was going to go, but I think there was something right away that we had with each other – kind of a trusting, got each other [kind of thing] – that in turn showed up on the screen.”

But the shift to full-time leading manhood has definitely been an adjustment for Kenny as an actor – particularly in coming off a rough-and-tumble, testosterone driven show like The Shield.

“It’s definitely a huge shift,” says Kenny. “That whole best friend/testosterone thing [on The Shield] is definitely a different bond than the one you build in a male/female partnership [whereby] you are secretly in love with that person. It’s [actually] really hard. There’s a lot of work [put into] the layers and the subtleties – you know, the job, the partner, how you feel about that person, being married yet knowing that person isn’t right for you, not being able to confess your love to the person you’re with every day even though you have sort of that unspoken understanding. For me, all of that has been definitely a huge shift – almost like night and day with the way I approach everything.”

And just as the actor has evolved over the course of the first and second seasons, so has the character.

“Nancy Miller wrote a pretty wonderful arc that includes my brother in Afghanistan. My other brother is in town, running an art gallery and happens to be gay. There are also going to be some things [coming up] that happen to Ham that turn him into a complete basket case – that really kind of [find him] taking [the] opposite role [from] what he’s been doing, especially with Grace. You know, he’s been trying to be there for her through everything, trying to understand where she comes from. Now, their roles [are going] to get reversed because of some things that happen [to him] and the places he goes [both emotionally and psychologically]. It gets extremely dark - episodes five, six and seven pretty much go as dark as they’d allow on television,” says Kenny.

Even if that that sounds pretty ominous, rest assured it’s really just great storytelling that is going to allow the audience to see a character not only grow but also recover from being knocked off his feet.

“This show deals with tragedies in people’s lives,” Kenny says, “and how you deal or not deal with obstacle and life-changing events. Just when you think you’re OK with things, or you think that you’re making all the right choices in your life for the right reasons, something can come and hit you in the face [like a baseball] bat, and you can’t recover. Things that seem solid go away. And it’s on many different levels – it’s not one particular event. So, it’s [been] interesting to see [all that play out for my character]."

It’s also part of yet another collaborative environment that is fostered with the show runners – very much like the folks over at The Closer.

“Nancy Miller is really beautiful about saying, ‘Where do you feel you want it to go? Where do you feel we can improve?’ with the characters, with the show, with the stories. She is so open. I definitely expressed a lot of things to her that she [took to heart], and it’s just pretty awesome [to see it come to fruition],” says Kenny.

And yet, the challenge for Kenny is portraying someone who is, essentially, opposite from him in a very key area of life: being a happily married man.

Kenny is; Ham is not.

“Ham is married, yet he’s cheating on his wife and in complete denial about it. I had a hard time talking to Nancy about [that], saying ‘How do I justify this without be a complete schmuck.’ For me personally, it would never happen. So, because it’s very opposite, it’s [been a challenge] not personally judge myself as the character, yet still try to find reasons why Ham is who he is, why he's caught up being in love and acting out even though he’s a married man,” says Kenny.

But as different as Ham and Kenny are on the personal life tip, there are some elements of the character that the actor feels are part of his core make up, too.

“Ham’s a loyal guy in some respects,” Kenny says. “He likes to be the best that he can be at what he does – like his work. You know, if other parts of your life aren’t going well, what do you fall back on? If you can obsess on one thing that you become great at, it takes your mind off other things where you might be lacking or definitely having problems. So, for me as a person, I like to put my energy [into being the best I can be]. And Ham does the same thing with his work – he wants to be great at what he does, be helpful at what he does and contribute. He’s also got a sense of humor, and he tries to make light of things when they’re really heavy. So, there’s definitely human similarities that kind of crossover, and then there are other ones that become deep, moral choices [at which point] you know we’re two different people.”

Given that, it makes you wonder what Kenny might say to Ham in a conversation. Or better still, what might Ham say to Kenny.

“My conversation with him would be, like, ‘Man, what are you doin’?’” he says with a laugh before turning serious. “No, actually, my conversation would go back to the loyalty thing. Like, dude, you got married to somebody. If you’re not happy, get out of it before you go off and do your thing. I’m personally a big believer in commitment. So, [he needs to] man up and get out. That’d probably be my conversation. But,I'd also want to ask him how do you [continue to have an affair] without having a conscience about it - or do you? I’d want to know how a person does that – how are you still married, not being held accountable for an affair and simultaneously justifying that affair. Not that he’s a schmuck, or that he’s even acting like a schmuck, but he is acting out. I understand why [Grace does what she does], but why doesn’t [Ham] choose to clean up that other part of his life first in order to try and make it work [with her]. I’d be curious to know that.”

He then pauses for a moment.

“So, now let’s do the other side. Here’s Ham talking to Kenny: ‘Okay, so listen dude, this is how it is,’” he says laughing.

And it's pretty good for Kenny at the moment. And for all those folks out there who do watch The Shield, Kenny's thoughts on the final season can be summed up this way: shocking and unexpected.

“Oh man … I know what happens, and I was there for a couple of those last episodes. It’s going to be a pretty shocking ending in a lot of ways. It’s not going to be what people expect at all. I was pretty blown away when I was told. I mean, I was on the episode where one thing happened, and I thought they were lying to me. I was, like, ‘No?’ and they were like, ‘Yeah!’ and I was like, ‘No way!’ and they were like ‘Yeah way!' It’s pretty unbelievable. And as much as people that [have been] following [the show] got affected by Shane killing [my character] Lem, I think they’re going to feel as much – probably more of an impact – with how The Shield ends. [Creator] Shawn [Ryan] is pretty genius. It’s going to be great. I think people are just going to be blown away by how it unfolds.”

Hmmm ... I may just have to tune in.

We at PTR extend our great thanks to Kenny for taking the time to chat with us. We'd also like to thank our friends at Turner publicity for putting it all together. You can catch Kenny in the second season of Saving Grace Mondays at 10 p.m. on TNT. Visit is official Web site, or check him out on MySpace. You can also check out Kenny’s award-winning short film, I Heard the Mermaid Singing, that he both directed and starred. It was accepted into the Cannes Film Festival, and it won a silver medal for excellence at the 2008 Park City Film Music Festival. It’s a tribute to his very first acting teacher, Michael Shurtleff, who wrote a play of the same name.

The Countdown Hits the Halfway Point

We're halfway through our summer-long countdown of the Best Episodes of the Season, which means we're this much closer to revealing which episode topped the list this year. Before we get to this week's entries, here's a look at the rules for this year's winners. LillyKat and I ended up with 36 incredible episodes that demonstrate the diversity and quality of the current television state. The shows and their episodes are from both NETWORK and CABLE television. All episodes aired between June 2007 and June 2008. Each episode that made the final list moved us in some way; either by making us laugh out loud, cry our eyes out or just left us with that "wow" feeling that stays with you for a few days. So basically, it's completely subjective! Since this is a summer-long countdown to the number 1 episode, we will reveal a few each week all summer. So, be sure to tune in every Thursday to find out which episodes are on the countdown! Today, we're going to take a closer look at numbers 18-16.

18: "I Hate These People" - Damages
Alas, we finally get to Damages here on our countdown. This show took me completely by storm last year - as in, it was so good that I ran out of words to describe what I was watching. Most of the time, I ended up staring at the television screen, mouth agape, blinking repeatedly, murmuring to myself, “Oh. My. God.” None more true than with the episode "I Hate These People." By this point in the series, so many of the storylines were coming to fruition, winding down toward the finale. Just when I thought I had started to piece it all together, we got thrown the left curve of all left curves with Lawyer Ray blowing his brains out in Patty’s office, and Patty trying to get her stuff together to do the right thing with Ellen. Who knew? Kicker number one: Patty kinda-sorta-almost graveling to get Ellen to help her get that last piece of evidence from Securities and Exchange Commission low-life George Moore. Kicker number two: Ray. The case now hinged on Ray’s indiscretions with Gregory Malina, but I did not anticipate Patty's insistence she’d overlook the whole thing so long as Ray threw the case in court. Kicker #3: Past became present. All those flash forwards got answered: The blood on Patty’s shoe? Ray’s; Patty bailing out of town? Because she was trying to recover from watching this man’s brains be splattered all over her office; The 1900 messages Tom left for Patty on her cell phone (ok, it was actually 57)? She’s not answering because she’s in shock from Ray’s suicide. Just. Plain. Brilliant. Written by Adam Stein and directed by Ed Bianchi. - LillyKat, PTR Senior Staff Writer


17: "The Constant" - Lost
Time travel of the mind??!! How brilliant was this idea?! The notion of time travel had been floating around on this show for a few seasons, but this episode definitely linked the island to the intriguing idea. Desmond started suffering the effects of the helicopter ride from the island to the ship parked somewhere offshore. One of those effects was his mind's ability to travel through time back to when he met a young scientist who told him that he needed to find a constant in order to make himself well again. Without the constant, he would be trapped in his time traveling mind. So, he chooses Penny and it leads to an emotional phone call between the two (in the present). Time travel, an emotional reunion, and few more pieces of the puzzle -- what more can you ask for from an episode of Lost? Written by executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindeloff and directed by Jack Bender. Screencap courtesy Lost-Media.com

16: "Shawn (and Gus) of the Dead" - Psych
TV's funniest crime solving duo borrowed a few pages from the Scooby Doo playbook as they investigated the bizarre disappearance of an ancient mummy at a local museum. And it led to some hilarious results. I haven't laughed as hard as I did at Gus's 11-point turn in a very long time. I'm not sure what was funnier: the ridiculous trouble he went through to get that little car turned around or Shawn's commentary ("Dude, he's not even going to be in California by the time we get out of here!" and "Dude, you got it. You clearly had it after the second..." and the very simple, yet very funny "Really????!!"). Couple that with Gus's constant disappearing act at any sight of the mummy ("Great. Now we got a mummy on the loose and the son-of-a-bitch knows how to drive a stick!") and you get one side-splitting hour that also managed to throw in a great cliffhanger ("Mom??"). Written and directed by series creator Steve Franks.

So, there's a look at the next set of episodes on the countdown. What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Leave us a comment with your thoughts. And be sure to tune in next Thursday as we check out the second half of the countdown with #15-13 on the list.

Livin' On the Edge

FUNNY: Shawn on a bike and Gus in the sidecar next to him.

FUNNIER: Shawn taking the time to adjust his helmut and check his mirrors to see how he looks while the suspect is riding away.

PRICELESS: Shawn taking off and Gus getting left behind in an unconnected sidecar.

This week's episode was saved by all of the humorous scenes and lines like that one at the bike show. The story was just so-so, but Shawn, Gus and their usual bag of tricks kept me entertained. I thought I had this one all figured out long before TV's funniest crime fighting duo. And I did, it's just that my idea of what was going on and the truth of what was going on didn't exactly match up. This is why I'm not the psychic detective. For instance, I thought the son was sabotaging his father. Therefore, I didn't see the whole "he's the rival daredevil!" twist coming. And I was equally shocked to learn that Dutch "The Clutch" was dying from Pancreatic Cancer. As soon as that last tidbit was disclosed, I figured we had a self-sabotager on our hands. It had to be a sobering diagnosis for a man who had faced so many life-threatening stunts and lived to tell the tales.

In order to get to the bottom of all of this, Shawn and Gus went undercover as stunt testers. This led to some hilarious scenes with Gus screaming like a little girl and Shawn pretending to be a big and bad daredevil. Meanwhile, Jules thought that her boss wanted her to find a date for Lassiter. She tried her best, but it was slim pickings until Lassie seemed to find his own woman. Unfortunately, her job got in the way since she's a bit pricey and highly illegal. Leave it to Lassie to make a love connection with a prostitute! If only Shawn had been there to see it.

Psych airs Friday nights on USA Network. Catch up on this episode and others at hulu.com.

Silly and Serious on 'Grace'

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

It looks as though Detective Grace Hanadarko defeats Detective Lilly Rush in the Worst Mom Ever competition.

Who’d a thought?

We learned in last night’s ep (titled “It’s a Fierce, White-Hot, Mighty Love”) Grace had a pretty Ellen Rush-esque kinda mom.

The difference: Grace’s mom beat the heck out of her – knife scar and all. Can’t say ol’ Ellen – screwed up and alcoholic as she was – ever really smacked Lilly around to the point of going after her with a knife. Two points for Ellen Rush.

That said, last night’s ep was an interesting mixture of silly and serious. The case, which centered on the investigation of two teens abandoned by mom for her weekly gambling fix, brought up all of Grace’s Mama Issues. They aren’t quite the same as Lil’s given one could argue they are noticeably out in the open and potentially another likely reason (among many) for her wreckless behavior and last-chance-Angel ticket. However, I’d prefer this to Lilly’s zombie routine. In the end, it turns out one of the teens (the young son) ended up acting out against ol’ mom when she was having it out with the adopted daughter.

Baseball bat. Angry 10 year-old. Can we say parent rage?

But last night’s ep was … how should I say … kinda goofy in a fun way.

Case in point: ADA Michelle is suffering from the most extreme case of Love Jones for Detective Butch Ada that I’ve never seen. I mean, every five minutes (or should I say every time the squad was back in the squad room), it was “Call me, call me, call me.” Um, listen, babe … have we ever tried the less-is-more approach? If he didn’t call you after your one whopping date, smothering it on thicker than water isn’t going to help things much, ‘kay?

Case in point #2: Grace impersonating the teenage boyfriend of aforementioned adopted daughter via text messaging. Clever, funny, weird to watch her cozy up to said boyfriend to get him busted so she could take the phone in the first place, but silly nonetheless. Like, was she having too much fun or was it just me?

Case in point #3: The Oklahoma City Police Explorers. That was cute. Definitely. They are all sort of cop teen wannabes who volunteer for the program, get to hang out at the station and help the detectives whilst simultaneously being teased (as in, stand in a trash can until they are told they can leave, wear their jeans backwards, etc.). It’s all in good fun, and they learn about the inner-workings of being a police officer given some want to actually become cops themselves.

Like Grace’s nephew, Clay.

These are still my favorite scenes. I really like the chemistry between Dylan Minnette (who plays Clay) and Holly Hunter. Very much like Jennifer Carpenter and Michael C. Hall over on Dexter, where you swear they actually are brother and sister in real life, the same could be said for Holly and Dylan – it’s almost as if they are aunt and nephew for reals.

And as I’ve mentioned before, Clay is one of the few who can hold Grace accountable - like when he tells off Ham for being married and fooling around with Grace.

Go Clay.

And ... when Holly Hunter told us a few weeks back that the level of practical joking on set has reached epic proportions – most of which will be seen in the episodes that air – she really wasn’t kidding.

I’m guessing the ending sequence, with ADA Love Jones – er, I mean Michelle – pretending to hang herself in the interview room just to be able to get Butch’s attention, had to have been one of those epic proportion pranks that managed to make it’s way on screen.

Who knew the show could be so silly funny?

New episodes air Mondays at 10 p.m. on TNT. You can watch full episodes of the show anytime over on the show’s official Web site. You can also visit EmbraceYourGrace.com to share your stories of how you embrace your inner-Grace.

‘The Closer’ Alive with Fireworks

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

Thank you, Jon Tenney.

You told us it was coming.

We couldn’t wait for it to arrive

And boy, it didn’t disappoint.

In case you’re just tuning in, the anticipation for last night’s episode of The Closer, titled “Live Wire,” started over a month ago when PTR spoke exclusively with Jon Tenney about all-things Special Agent Fritz Howard. At the time, he let us know this particular episode was going to have some serious fireworks between Fritzy and BJ – ones that he himself really enjoyed portraying given it called a lot of things into question about the nature of their relationship.

He wasn’t kidding.

The BJ – lies – to – Fritzy – he – gets – pretty – irked – let’s – her – have – it moment will be a classic for years to come.

Have we ever seen BJ read the riot act like that?

We questioned her methods in last season’s Christmas special (“Next of Kin”), but outright ripping BJ a new one was … well, new.

Or rare.

Yet deserved.

And there is no one better to do it that Fritzy.

I get now why “Live Wire” is considered one of Jon’s all-time favorite episodes - even if it is part of this new season



The Case

An out-of-work real estate broker (Ben Masters) who decides to do some drug trafficking moonlighting only to wind up dead at the hands of his buddy who set him up to do the drug trafficking in the first place.

The kicker, of course, is the FBI had been tracking said drug trafficking ring for umpteen months, looking to get a break in the case by having somebody – anybody – flip on the leader of the gang. Hence BJ and Fritz enter into the case together whereby BJ agrees to let Fritz takeover her sting operation to catch Ben's friend killer (Dean Murphy) whilst Fritz gives her the big ol’ black book on all the other really super-bad guys that are in the ring.

Problem is, BJ does not do what she said she would do.

She takes the sting and the suspect, and convinces him not to take the FBI deal, thus, ruining Fritzy’s chance with his investigation and effectively compromising him in every conceivable way.



The Confrontation

As much as I love the fact BJ always "closes" the deal, she can do so at the expense of everything else – people, procedure, protocol.

That isn’t a good thing.

She gets tunnel vision to the point of fault, and she can cross lines without even thinking there was a line. Actually, she sometimes doesn’t even acknowledge there is a line.

She did so in this ep. Just like she did in “Next of Kin.”

By comparison, as much as Detective Lilly Rush over on Cold Case has turned into something less than stellar these days, I have never once questioned her moral compass. As devoted to her job as she is, Lilly hasn’t ever gone over that line. The Joseph thing doesn’t count for me given she was trying to protect the identity of a potential witness and not get him killed before he could point the finger at the bad guys. I actually think BJ would’ve done the same thing – or perhaps even gotten more creative in buying necessary time. We’ve seen Brenda do it before, which makes Lilly’s misstep seem like regular protocol by Priority Homicide standards.

That said, I’ve now questioned BJ’s methods twice.

She knew what she was doing last night, and yet she still lied to Fritz even when he called her on it. He was right to rip her a new one and point to her double-standard: do as I say, not as I do.

And all of this is why I continue to love this show. We see the dynamic between of these two wonderful characters in all their good and bad moments, which is how life is. You disagree, you fight, you argue, you call each other out … and if you’re in it for the long haul, you work it out. Together.



The Other Confrontation

Things are just not going too well with Sergeant Gabriel and Detective Daniels, are they? Looks like they broke up a few weeks ago (gee, could ya’ tell?), so the bloom is indeed off the rose. How OMG! was that moment when she lost it in the murder room, or when they were having it out in the interview room? I did want to punch Gabriel in the face for his Daniels – needs – to – transfer – out – of – Priority – Homicide spiel. Like, yeah, it’s her fault not yours, is that it?

Poor BJ. As if she needs to worry about one more thing. Needless to say, things are rather awkward right at the moment, and as such, I’m going to have to agree with BJ: this is why people should not date at work. Too much fishing from the company pier, and when things go bad they go really bad.



The Cornball

G.W. Bailey is right: lots of old man, I wear-custom-orthotic-shoes jokes.

And Lieutenant Tao with his grooming kit turned make believe blood spatter what ‘cha ma call it magic evidence potion thing. Do you think he called Dexter for pointers?

Or how about Buzz and Provenza watching the Daniels v. Gabriel re-match complete with popcorn from the video room.

Too. Darn. Funny.

And how welcome was the humor after last week's "Cherry Bomb."



The CC Connection

Note that the actress who portrayed Trisha Masters (Ben’s wife) also portrayed DeeDee in the second season Cold Case episode, “Mind Hunter.” And any time we can have a connection to that brilliant legend fantastic genius episode, it’s got to be good.



New episodes air Mondays at 9 p.m. on TNT. You can also watch full episodes of the show anytime over on the show’s official Web site.

To Russia Without Love

I've made no secret of the fact that I'm not Brandi's biggest fan. I may waffle over whether or not she's a conniving little twit bent on stealing her sister's "boyfriend," but I've stayed strong on my overall dislike of the character. Not any more. Not after her courageous stunt this week. I have to commend the writers and Nichole Hiltz for taking what could have been a throw away character and turning her into an essential part of the series. I wanted to stand up and applaud when Brandi turned the drug dealers in and saved that poor baby. My heart broke for that infant in the bathtub. And since I have several "sentimental stuffed animals" still lying around as well, I could relate to Brandi's attachment to Biscuit (loved that Mary gave him to her) and I understood why it was hard for her to part with him. That's why her gesture was made all the more touching for me. Let's hope that Brandi's quick thinking will give that kid a much better shot at life now. And speaking of a better shot in life, Brandi needs to take advantage of her good decision. I'm still on the fence about whether she's trying to steal Raph. I (want to) think that she knocked on his door because he was the only one she could turn to (Mary thought she was back in Jersey, and let's face it, she isn't the most understanding individual) and she was probably feeling kinda alone and scared. Why does Mary always pick the worst times to call/drop by? On the positive side, nothing appeared to have happened. At least there's that.

Unfortunately for Raph, Mary was coming off of a case involving a scumbag Russian con man, a broken-hearted witness, and a tough life lesson on trust. Bad combination on a good day, but virtual trifecta on a day when she finds her supposed-to-be-in-Jersey sister sleeping on her boyfriend's lap.

If Mary represents the glass half empty, then Marshall is the same glass, just half full. I fall somewhere in the middle, but I tend to favor the half full side, so this is probably why I find myself going with Marshall most of the time. This week, it caused me to believe that Serge had turned his life around and genuinely loved Mary's witness. That was until Mary dug a little deeper. Can't say I saw the internet angle coming, though. Thankfully, Mary did. It's just too bad a young girl got caught in the middle of it and has to uproot her life once again because of it.

In Plain Sight airs Sunday nights on USA Network. If you missed this week's episode ("To Serge With Love"), check it out for free at Hulu.com.

'Bones' Duet

Dr. Temperance Brennan may not have been too keen about getting up on stage and singing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," but her portrayer is a bit more eager to take to the stage. Later this month, Bones stars Emily Deschanel and Eric Millegan (Zack) will perform at the 3rd annual Hot in Hollywood. According to Millegan, the pair will sing "I've Got You Babe." This is the second time the actors have performed at the annual event which raises money for AIDS charities providing prevention, education and social services. The musically inclined duo sang "Almost Paradise" at the 2006 benefit. In addition to Emily and Eric, look for T.R. Knight, Neil Patrick Harris, Josh Radnor, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ana Ortiz, Linda Cardellini, Parminder Nagra, fashion designer Randolph Duke, and Jaime Pressly (who will receive the first-ever HIH award for her outstanding commitment and service towards changing the lives of those affected by HIV/AIDS) to attend the August 16th party. Ugly Betty star America Ferrera is slated to host the event.

For more information on the August 16th event (including tickets), click over to the Hot in Hollywood official site.

The 'Heroes' of Comic-Con

As LillyKat reported last week, lucky fans, bloggers, and members of the media attended the annual Comic-Con in San Diego. Producers and cast members from many of your favorite shows were on hand to answer questions and drop a few hints about their shows' upcoming seasons. Now, thanks to the folks at NBC.com, you can watch the entire Heroes panel online! Click on over to nbc.com to get all of the scoop on the new season.

PJ Gets Caught Between the 'Boys'

Kenny and Stephanie??!!! WTH??!! Didn't see that one coming! And they slipped it in right at the end when we were too busy focusing on PJ and Jack and Bobby and Jack's decision to leave after a rather public fight with his brother. I can't say that I'm too broken up about his departure. In addition to being obnoxious and extremely jealous, he seems to have a very volatile relationship with his brother and I don't think PJ wants to get caught between these siblings. If she did, I fear that a little spilled wine on a pretty dress will pale in comparison to the consequences it would bring.

After meeting the Newman cad of a dad, Bobby's original warnings about his brother seem much more plausible. Perhaps, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree in the Newman family (apparently, Bobby takes after his mother?). Yet another reason why PJ is better off steering clear of Jack. It seems like he (and his father) could fill an entire book as opposed to a single chapter in Stephanie's novel. She could write a follow-up entitled You're Not a Great Guy, But... on those two.

So, going into next week's finale (how in the name of Dr. Brando are we already at the fickin' finale??!!), Bobby's set to marry Elsa (with Andy presiding over the ceremony), Mike is back in the saddle after a little afternoon delight, Brendan is on the outs after his potential boyfriend business partner got waylaid in Chicago (SIDE BAR: How hard did you laugh when Brendan made a mix tape for him?? I'm still laughing! This story line is awesome!), PJ is caught somewhere between Jack and Bobby, and Kenny is hooking up with Steph. Oh, this is going to be a fun finale.

You can catch up on episodes of My Boys at TBS.com. Next week's finale airs at a special time -- Thursday at 10 pm (EST) on TBS.

Morris' Hotplate Productions Sells Pilot

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

When you have Jerry Bruckheimer as a mentor, chances are you're going to become a pretty good producer yourself.

Cold Case star (and PTR Fave) Kathryn Morris, who landed a production company deal last year with Warner Brothers, has sold her first series pilot under her Hotplate Productions brand. It's based on Harry Hunsicker's popular Crosshairs novel.

And, just so this doesn't come as a shocker to Cold Case fans who may be apt to think "OMG! She's leaving the show to go produce stuff!!!!" ... relax. Morris has repeatedly mentioned in past interviews that she's interested in delving into other realms besides acting, not abandoning it altogether. She remains steadfastly committed to the CC team, but is nicely on her way spreading her wings into the producing realm.


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From Creators.com
Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

NEW ADVENTURES: Kathryn Morris of "Cold Case" proudly reports that her fledgling Hotplate Productions outfit has sold a series pilot based on Harry Hunsicker's popular "Crosshairs" novel "through Warner Bros. It's a male-driven P.I. show. The main character is a heroic stud, a cool guy that I'm sure would live down the street from Lily Rush," she says, referring to her series character.

The beautiful blond leading lady says she's not planning to act in the prospective show — or any of the projects she's developing — "because of my commitment to 'Cold Case.' But I do have a cameo in a little film that's about to come out — 'Assassination of a High School President.' I play a naughty nurse in that. It was fun."

Knowing all too well the vicissitudes of an acting career — particularly for a woman in her late 30s — Morris has been determined to branch out into producing. She tells us, "I basically had a mentor in Jerry Bruckheimer, teaching me a formula of how to make a good television show from the script through crew, the casting — all the elements. That's why Jerry's shows look like no other in television," including "Cold Case," of course.

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We do love Kathryn, but let's hope it's not too formulaic. Cold Case returns for its sixth season September 28th.

The Countdown Rolls On

This week, we're breaking the Top 20 with our summer-long countdown of the Best Episodes of the Season. Before we get to this week's entries, here's a look at the rules for this year's winners. LillyKat and I ended up with 36 incredible episodes that demonstrate the diversity and quality of the current television state. The shows and their episodes are from both NETWORK and CABLE television. All episodes aired between June 2007 and June 2008. Each episode that made the final list moved us in some way; either by making us laugh out loud, cry our eyes out or just left us with that "wow" feeling that stays with you for a few days. So basically, it's completely subjective! Since this is a summer-long countdown to the number 1 episode, we will reveal a few each week all summer. So, be sure to tune in every Thursday to find out which episodes are on the countdown! Today, we're going to take a closer look at numbers 21-19.

21: "Resistance is Futile" - Dexter
Again, we have to disclose that we technically did not cover the second season of Dexter here at PTR. But, since I did watch it on my own, went back and covered the first (as it aired on CBS), and will be covering the third, we felt it important to include a couple of key eps from Dex's second round. "Resistance is Futile" is one such ep. We now all know Sergeant Doakes has had it in for Dexter since Day 1. He's the only guy who ever actually suspects Dex of some weirdness. Throughout the second season, Doakes was out to get Dexter - especially once he was suspended off the force for harassing of Dex and/or then being accused as the Bay Harbor Butcher. So, in setting out to "get" Dexter, Doakes discovers Dex's true identity - Serial Killer Extraordinaire, the real Bay Harbor Butcher. The reveal (and subsequent confrontation) exploded in this episode, and so began Dex's keeping of Doakes hostage to protect his own identity - and his life. It was like we all had been waiting for this moment, and the moment did not disappoint. Nor did the episode. Written by Melissa Rosenberg. Directed by Marcos Siega. - LillyKat, PTR Senior Staff Writer

20: "Mummy in the Maze" - Bones
Nobody does murder quite as humorously as Bones. Of course, the systematic slaughtering of young girls and the gruesome disposal of their mummified remains at various Halloween venues isn't exactly slap your knee funny, but watching Booth and Bones work the case together is downright LMAO hilarious! Whether it was his (yes, his) fear of clowns, her ridiculous Wonder Woman costume (seriously though, the top -- or lack thereof) or everything in between, this Halloween-themed outing had a funny for every fancy. And how great was it that Bones tried to shoot the door open, but accidentally shot Booth in the arm instead?! Forget shooting yourself in the foot! Luckily, he let it slide and managed to shoot and kill the man responsible for the murders. And, he and Bones (in her Wonder Woman costume) managed to save another young girl in the process. It's all in a day's work for TV's best non-couple-couple crime fighting duo. Written by Scott Williams and directed by Marita Grabiak.

19: "May the Best Man Win" - Friday Night Lights
According to the medical textbooks, Jason is supposed to be sterile, but against all odds, he got a girl pregnant after a one-night stand. But, deciding what to do about it and how to feel about the shocking news was an even bigger challenge. And this was only one of the compelling story lines from this makeshift season finale. There was Smash's decision to "settle" for something he didn't want as a consequence of his public actions. Sure, playing football at a small off-the- grid college is not what he envisioned for his future, but at least he's back in a position to play the game he loves and possibly go to the NFL someday. Thanks to his super awesome mom, he'll land on his feet. And Coach Taylor will make sure he lands on a collegiate football field. Just to show that this series has a lighter side, the writers threw in a great quasi-love triangle story with Coach Taylor, Tami and her former flame. I'm not sure what cracked me up more -- seeing the jealous side of Eric or watching Kyle Chandler beat up real-life boss (and FNL showrunner) Peter Berg, who played the role so brilliantly. Written by David Hudgins and directed by Patrick Norris.

So, there's a look at the next set of episodes on the countdown. What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Leave us a comment with your thoughts. And be sure to tune in next Thursday for #18-16 on the list.

High School Reunion

Having just attended a high school reunion (Mr. TVFan's, not mine), I found the subject matter of this week's Psych to be rather timely. Thankfully, no one was murdered at the one I attended, but at the same time, it wasn't quite as entertaining as this one. Everything is a trade off, I guess. Shawn has a hard enough time convincing the Santa Barbara police department that he has a psychic ability that helps him solve crimes (he doesn't), so convincing them that a murder took place when there's no body ("No body, no crime"), left him with quite the conundrum. Gus was so concerned about the reunion going off without a hitch (he planned it) that he refused to believe it. Lassie was on a date which turned into an arrest (fraud and identity theft). And Jules was preoccupied with her non-prom dress/prom dress (with a "slight poof") to help Shawn figure out who was murdered and by whom. Shawn's uncanny attention to detail won out once again and he solved the who and the by whom and managed to kiss the girl in the end. Apparently, that uncanny ability was not alive and well while he was in high school. He failed to notice that the school had a football team (which won a state championship while he was in school). Of course, that was due to the games being on Friday nights when Shawn was home watching Step By Step (how awesome was that reference, by the way?? I totally watched this show. It starred Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Sommers and they each had their own kids and they got married and became one big happy blended family. Now that I've typed this, it suddenly occurred to me that the premise was identical to The Brady Bunch -- how did I never notice this back in the 90s??!! And whatever happened to Patrick Duffy and everyone else on that show (minus Suzanne Sommers)?).

This episode also made great use of some classic 80s brat pack films. Pretty In Pink, The Breakfast Club and anything and everything starring Jud Nelson was well represented. Unfortunately for Shawn, the references were lost on his classmates and dad. Of course, Dad was a little distracted by his trip through the nostalgic halls of his alma mater and with his confusion over his feelings for his ex-wife. That steak scene was hilarious! And I couldn't believe Shawn needed him to call her back about that box! But having them show up at the reunion was too funny ("Nobody else's parents are here!"). Classic Psych!

Psych airs Friday nights on USA Network. Catch up on this episode and others at hulu.com.

Gish Gets 'Cleaner'

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

'kay, this must be my week for swapped episode airings as it pertains to the third and fourth episodes of a series.

First, TNT switches up The Closer's third and fourth episodes ... sooooo, four becomes three and three becomes four.

Now, A&E has apparently done the same thing, swapping out episodes three and four, and thus, bumping up airing PTR Fave Annabeth Gish's guest appearance on their new series, The Cleaner, which stars Benjamin Bratt as William Banks, a recovering addict who helps others get clean by any means necessary as he struggles to maintain his own rocky personal life.

Is it me?

Anyhoooo, tipped off by our friends at All Things Annabeth, I happened to catch the ep last night. Suffice it to say, I think I've found a new favorite show. It could be here at PTR depending on how next week's ep goes (plus I have to go back and watch the first two eps ... oops, my bad).

It was fun seeing Annabeth portray a suburban housewife who is an OxyContin addict (we can tell her time on Brotherhood is rubbing off on her project choices - in a good way). As an extra super bonus, Damages Alum Tate Donovan is also guest starring alongside Annabeth in this ep as her husband.

How cool is that?

If you missed it (and heck, I bet you did), A&E will be re-airing the episode (titled "Meet the Joneses") at 10 p.m. on Friday, August 1st. But if you can't wait that long, head on over to A&E's The Cleaner Official Site and watch it online (it's now officially episode three)!

Field of Dreams(ing) on ‘Saving Grace’

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

Let me start this Saving Grace recap with a digression …

It just so happens I’ve been watching a lot of Field of Dreams of late (part of a Kevin Costner Love Fest that my STARZ! Movie Channel is running throughout the month of July).

Now, I love this movie – loved it in 1989 when it was first released, still love it 20 years later. Remember when you had to pay $89.99 to buy a VHS tape of a newly released movie before it hit the $19.99 bargain price? Probably not (depending on how old you are), but hey, that was me with this movie (and I still have the original tape lying around somewhere).

Anyhoooooo, Field of Dreams is pretty much the only movie in which I can actually stand Kevin Costner (sorry, KC fans … he’s, like, the same in every movie, and I get bored with his monotone delivery of lines). That aside, the film itself is pretty darn good. It throws into question one’s beliefs about the Afterlife, Heaven, God. Or, in layman's terms, can one really build a baseball diamond in the middle of a cornfield in Iowa, have the ghosts of baseball’s past come play on it, and simultaneously reunite father and son for a never - got - to - say - goodbye - have - a - catch - moment?

In movies terms, yes. In real life, dunno.

It’s also got a fantastic supporting cast.

And that includes Amy Madigan.

So, imagine my surprise when Annie Kinsella herself (that would be Amy’s character from FoD) appeared as a guest star on this week’s episode of Saving Grace, playing the somewhat quirky, loopy wife of this week’s murder victim.

Hmmm, if Holly Hunter builds it, they will come?

Apparently.

Ed Ligardi was the evidence supervisor for the Grace squad, about ready to retire after 38 years, and not a super popular guy. Read: as entertaining as a doornail. When he turns up dead in the bathroom at the squad’s hangout whilst Grace and Ham are fooling around in a stall right as the murder happens, well … it gets interesting (like we said, this show hasn’t completely abandoned the wardrobe malfunctions). And when we come to find out it’s Madigan’s Gretchen, Ed’s wife, who is the prime suspect, well … it gets really interesting.

And genius.

I swear, Madigan’s portrayal of Gretchen was like some sort of cross-between Dustin Hoffman in Rainman and Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs. That’s right folks … looks like ol’ Gretchy decided to cap Ed ‘cause hey, she didn’t want him home all the time, either. How she fooled everyone into thinking it wasn’t her was equally clever. Like, is she really crazy, or is she only pretending to be crazy? The closing scene made me think more along the lines of Hannibal Lecter than Raymond Babbitt.

As if Madigan’s appearance wasn’t ironic enough, this week had some serious focus on two recurring dreams that Grace and her convict - also - needs - a - last - chance - angel - cohort Leon Cooley are having simultaneously (compliments of Angel Earl, of course). In Leon’s dream, Grace is asking him for help. In Grace’s dream, Leon asking her for help.

Hmmm … perhaps we have some easing of his/her pain?

I’m telling ya’ … weird Field of Dreams / Saving Grace crossover moments happening in my living room last night.

Perhaps I’ll go the distance next?


Other highlights:

Ham Has a Bro’: We got introduced to Ralph Dewey this week, who is a First Lieutenant serving in the Marines in Iraq. Ham breaks his arm in a little arm-wrestling, bro’-on-bro’ macho action, but hey, trifles, right?

Ham Has a Place: Er, we think it is. Like, how small is that apartment? Clearly not on Detective Lilly Rush’s live - in - a - row - home in Philly salary, or Grace’s dump of a house salary (sorry, but she is a slob; and yet, at least she’s got a house). Poor Ham.

Pillow Talk with IA: Ooooohhhhh! Captain Kate is having a little somethin’ somethin’ with an IA investigator (played by the always good Steven Culp). This supports Lorraine Toussaint’s reveal to us during our visit to the set that Captain Kate does indeed get it on – one of her requests for her character this season. Go Lorraine, but watch out Kate.

New episodes air Mondays at 10 p.m. on TNT. You can watch full episodes of the show anytime over on the show’s official Web site. You can also visit EmbraceYourGrace.com to share your stories of how you embrace your inner-Grace.

‘The Closer’ Sees Cherry Red

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

During our visit to the set of The Closer in June, the cast seemed awfully relieved to be done filming the episode “Cherry Bomb.”

Now I get why.

Kinda made you want to go punch something.

And take every teenage girl you know and say beware of arsewipe, cocky son-of-a-bi*tch dreamboat boys suddenly wanting to be your boyfriend.

They aren’t interested in you, and you can and will do better.

The ep (which aired last night but of which was originally supposed to be the fourth episode of the season) squashed the two weeks worth of humorous, insta-classic Closer moments that have wrung in the fourth season. If anything, this episode reminded me of last season’s “Ruby” (which came in on this year’s PTR Best Episode Countdown List at #34) – poignant, powerful and tough to watch.

And why The Closer remains one of the most compelling dramas on television.



The Case

A highly political one involving the son (Darren Yates) of a commander in the LA County Sheriff’s Office (Mark Yates, played brilliantly by Daniel Baldwin) who sexually assaulted a girl a week prior to her ending up dead from an apparent suicide. Now, as we know, BJ doesn’t investigate suicides, but since Commander Taylor took his sweet time investigating the assault (worrying too much about his political correctness and too little about victim Michelle Clark), he asks BJ to consider whether she may have been murdered since he, himself, no longer has a case now that Michelle is dead.

Oh, if only it were that simple.

Turns out slimeball arsewipe Darren and his friends invented a game called “Cherry Pickin’” whereby each put up $50 to see who could sleep with the most virgins by the end of the school year. He who picks the most cherries wins the cash.

And the fame.

And WTF else.

Complete with “LookIt” Page (read: MySpace-esque homage) with each girl’s picture adorned with a little cherry graphic.

Ugh.

Apparently, Darren had to really work to get Michelle’s cherry. And beat her to a pulp in the process.

Double ugh.



The Clever

We know how sexual assault cases go, don’t we? Never get convictions. He said, she said. Can’t get the victims to press charges. That is, of course, until Brenda Leigh Johnson steps onto the case, and uses her murder investigation to get the sexual assault confession.

Freakin’ genius.

I swear, I was literally cheering for this at the end, especially when it became clear Michelle really did commit suicide, and thus, Darren could not be put away for murder.



The Compelling

The entire episode.

It’s rare to see Brenda shaken up by a case, but this one got to her and found her even more steadfastly determined to nail Darren. How about that scene in the medical examiners room, going over Michelle’s badly beaten and bruised body … the close-up shot of Brenda’s face as she’s shown the mutilated lower nether-regions of Michelle … absolutely dead still … just.freaking.gripping.

From that point forward, you knew she would somehow, some way get the confession – even if every conceivable odd was stacked against her.

And that is why I love BJ.

Whether it was going toe-to-toe with Mark Yates (Daniel Baldwin), searching out another victim to get a tear-jerking account of how she was assaulted, or having to settle only for the assault conviction, she got Michelle justice in the end.

When arguably no one else would – or could – have (save for Detective Lilly Rush, perhaps).

And I don’t know what was more infuriating – the boys and their game, or the fact these girls fell prey to the game.

The closing sequence, with another Cherry Pickin’ victim coming back to Brenda’s office to change her mind and press charges … classic.



The Homage

I had visions of The Accused whilst watching this ep. If you’ve never seen that film, you should. Beware it is incredibly difficult to watch, but Jodie Foster earns every bit of her Best Actress Oscar®.

When BJ arrests the group of Cherry Pickin’ friends, I had visions of Kelley McGillis’ character going after all of the idiotbot men who cheered on the sexual assault of Jodie Foster’s character.

And she got justice in the end, too.

Thank. God.



Wait, is this PPD?

The only comical thing – and it was to me and me alone – was the fact that the interview room in which Commander Taylor first interviews Michelle (after her assault) looked an awful lot like Lil’s territory on Cold Case. I don’t know … lighting … angles … where the door was positioned … I swear Lil’ was going to come through the door any second saying, “I got this.”

Well, we got it.

And this is likely to be a favorite episode on PTR’s list for next year.

New episodes air Mondays at 9 p.m. on TNT. You can also watch full episodes of the show anytime over on the show’s official Web site.

Raph's Cheatin' Heart

How many times have I lamented the evils of network promos? How many times have I warned about their misleading ways, and yet, I wrote this in last week's In Plain Sight write-up:

"Of course, if next week's promo is any indication, then maybe Brandi should be given free range with Raph. Perhaps, she wouldn't jerk him around the way that Mary does."

I know, I know -- fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, yada yada yada. Is there a consolation prize for fool me a thousand times? No, well there should be because the nets have gotten my goat more times than I care to remember. Moving on... last week's promo showed Mary getting mighty friendly with a witness and I thought she was cheating on Raph (in my defense, this particular breed of promo was extremely tricky). Turns out, the scene from the ad was from Mary's past (about 13 months ago). Oops. To add insult to injury (as in, my bruised ego), turns out Raph's the cheater! Wow, did I get that one wrong. Thankfully, it wasn't with Mary's overeager sister. In Raph's defense, Mary did totally freak out and shoot him down, ignore him, and consistently fail to show up to take him to his appointments. She did realize this and decided not to get mad at Raph's indiscretion and declared that they were free to see other people (as long as Brandi isn't involved). Does this mean that Mary's free for Marshall? Something tells me that he hopes so and she wouldn't even consider it.

In Plain Sight airs Sunday nights on USA Network. If you missed this week's episode ("Good Cop, Dead Cop"), check it out for free at Hulu.com.