Review - Body of Proof Season 2 Episode 2 Hunting Party

I didn't have enough time to review Body of Proof last week, but I'm not sure there was any need. The show remains pretty much  the same. Megan and Kate have difficulties working together and Ethan and Curtis do funny things in the background. The biggest difference is that Peter has been put in some kind of sexual capacity versus whatever generic characterization he has last season.

The plot this week had a good bit of forensic magic, but the home video at the end of the episode really highlighted how terrible the crimes were. I don't think anyone watches for the police work anyway, so it's never a big deal.

Supposedly, there are four episodes left from the first season that will be in the second season (I can't find any reputable sources, though, so send me a link over Twitter if you find one). These first two episodes of the season don't seem to be of those four, as the relationship stuff doesn't seem quite the same as it did the first season..

Score: 8.3/10

Review - Body of Proof Season 1 Episode 9 Broken Home

I'm kind of troubled with the way the season ended. Megan gives Lacey a new cell phone cover and both are smiling. This is nice and all, but I do question Megan's mindset. She's upset that her ex-husband is dating her boss, and that seems to play a big role in the fact that Megan may be spoiling her daughter. The greater point is that there are some consequences of Kate dating her ex, but I have a hard time caring, considering how little the characters have been developed. Given that this season was only nine episodes long and the show was renewed, there should be improvement next season.

Score: 8.3/10

All missed reviews

Here are the short reviews for shows I missed through the week. I included reviews for shows I've stopped reviewing to balance things out. Also, you might have notice that reviews for Breaking In and The Good Wife are still missing. Blogger still hasn't restored them, but since the Glee review was restored, I assume the other posts should follow. If that does not happen by Monday, I repost them. (If you really want to read them, they're on Insidepulse TV.)

Body of Proof Season 1 Episode 8 Buried Secrets: "Buried Secrets" is a reminder that Body of Proof is a mash up of different shows. Every part of the episode has been done before in large amounts, but Body of Proof does them well, which makes the show worth watching.

Modern Family Season 2 Episode 22 Good Cop Bad Dog: I normally find plots of Modern Family to be somewhat realistic, but Jay and Gloria’s plot with Guillermo and the dog seemed like it belonged on Breaking In instead of Modern Family. But Phil and Claire were great in the episode, and realistic, so it mostly balanced out.

The Chicago Code Season 1 Episode 11 Black Sox: I’m not particularly interested in Jarek and his lady problems, especially since it’s been one of the least developed plots. It looks like Gibbons is finally making his move, whatever that they be. We originally thought he put a hit out on Teresa, but that turned out wrong. Is he capable of ordering her murder if she gets too close?

House Season 7 Episode 21 The Fix: It was really out of the blue for House to suddenly decide to fix himself with an experimental rat drug. But this contrivance does put House in some kind of danger. That’s better than nothing, right? OK, maybe not, but we should see what the writers do first before casting too much judgment.

The Big Bang Theory Season 3 Episode 23 The Engagement Reaction: Priya wasn’t mean in this episode for once. She talks to Penny without being bitchy and is actually fine with Leonard being near Penny. The Raj stuff was again weak and random, but that’s to be expected. As far as the main story goes, the stuff between Howard and his mother was hilariously creepy, especially when Bernadette yelling reminded me of Howard’s mother while Howard thought it was sexy.

Parks and Recreation Season 3 Episode 13 The Fight / 14 Road Trip: Two episodes of Parks and Recreations!! And if that wasn't good enough, next week has two more episodes! While I enjoyed both episodes, I would give the edge to “The Fight.” There were so many great moments with the actual fight, Snake Juice, and Ron. Ben and Leslie finally make out in “Road Trip,” so there was development on that front for once.

The Office Season 7 Episode 24 Dwight K. Schrute, (Acting) Manager: Dwight is a guy who often expresses wacky ideas, but since he’s never in a position of power, nothing really comes of it. Well, this was Dwight’s chance to shine. Unfortunately, his excessive regulation in the office ends up with him shooting a gun in the office and eventually being demoted. The episode has the Dwight and Jim dynamic that was been lessened over the years, so that was nice to see. And as Jim tells Dwight, Dwight did one good thing in making all the orders on time.

The Mentalist Season 3 Episode 22 Rhapsody in Red: Before the two-hour season finale next week, The Mentalist dished up a fairly standard episode. Jane solves the crime while the rest of the team fills in the background. I did like, however, the increased attention on Cho, who is easily the funniest character other than Cho, and he got to tackle something close to home for once.

The Event Season 1 Episode 20 One Will Live, One Will Die: This new plot device the writer are using is the one where they show us part of what’s going on to mislead us. In the previous episode, it was the cocaine trafficker who turned out to be irrelevant, and in this episode, we only hear half of the phone call. To be honest, it’s plain stupid.

Hawaii Five-0 Season 1 Episode 23 Ua Hiki Mai Kapalena Pau: "Ua Hiki Mai Kapalena Pau" heads directly into the season finale, mixing a standard standalone plot with the only search for Wo Fat and Chin Ho’s admission of guilt to stealing the money. The episode is tense, with the whole island potentially in danger, but as always, the day is saved.

Blue Bloods Season 1 Episode 22: The first season of Blue Bloods ended with a resolution to the Blue Templar plot, which chugged slowly along as the season went. It is resolved as expected, with the acknowledgement that the Blue Templars are just a couple of bad eggs in the basket. As always, the Reagans and police department come out looking like the greatest heroes ever.

Camelot Season 1 Episode 7 The Long Night: After last week’s snoozer, Camelot came back with a fairly strong episode. Morgan had some really nefarious schemes up her sleeves, deceiving Arthu and the rest of them, while stealing Igraine’s place at the end of the episode, using her shapeshifting ability. Oh, and gratuitous nudity!

Breakout Kings Season 1 Episode 10 Paid in Full: “Paid in Full” puts all the dirty laundry out there. The cons find out that Ray is not actually a Marshall and the audience and other cons learn that Lloyd was sent to prison for writing a fake prescription which ended in a girl dying. Charlie’s big speech at the end is a tinge disingenuous with his big “revelation” of a congenital heart defect, but it makes a point: everyone has their secrets and problems, but they have to trust each other. Considering what Shea was doing in the previous episodes, there is still a lot to be resolved.

Treme Season 2 Episode 3 On Your Way Down: In an episode riddled with crime, there is an obvious standout, the rape of Ladonna, which was harrowing to say the least. The fallout is executed brilliantly with Khandi Alexander coming through. As the visible crime affects several characters, there is also an undeniable crime in the background being perpetrated against all New Orleans, Nelson’s slimy dealings with the city’s money.

Review - Body of Proof Season 1 Episode 6 Dead Man Walking

Even if a procedural isn't entirely based on new ideas, it still has its recognizable ticks. For Body of Proof, one of them is Megan outright accusing someone at an inappropriate time and drawing ire from the accused and his/her friends/etc. This happens without fail in every episode, and it gets tedious after a while. Part of this stems from the fact that the writers want as much people to know Megan, so these beginning episodes will largely flow around Megan's central traits--her passion to find the criminal, her guilt over killing someone, and her guilt over losing her daughter.

The case this week is balanced by Ethan and Curtis have their own body this week, and while they don't solve a crime, they do discover that the twin sister of deceased has the potential to have blood clots, so they kind of save a life.

Score: 8.4/10

Random tidbit: Geoffrey Arend, who plays Ethan, is married to Christina Hendricks, who played the redheaded twin.

Review - Body of Proof Season 1 Episode 4 Talking Heads

I'll be very busy the next two days, so I'll likely review a couple episodes at most and postpone the rest until Friday.

I don't have much to say about "Talking Heads," except that the writers are trying too hard to make us see that Megan cares. The whole "lift your hand" thing was far overdrawn and seemed like a really corny, prepared speech.

Score: 8.3/10

Review - Body of Proof Season 1 Episode 3 Helping Hand

If it hasn't been abundantly clear yet, the theme of Body of Proof is that interpersonal relationships are hard, starting with Megan who is brilliant at her job (basically functioning as ME and detective) but has severe deficiencies when it comes to relating with people. And the weird thing is, Jeri Ryan's character tries to help Megan with this, much like her ST: V character was helped by various other characters.

We see in "Helping Hand" that Megan can't recognize a patient she operated on in the past (although it's hard to blame her), but she takes it upon herself to find the murder, especially after the victim's father tells her that she was an inspiration to his daughter. The crime is solved in usual fashion while Megan actively tries to learn more about her coworkers, which isn't entirely a success but a first in the right direction.

Score: 8.5/10

Review - Body of Proof Season 1 Episode 2 Letting Go

The second episode of Body of Proof is much like the first, with Megan taking the lead and doing the heavy lifting while the other characters help her out and have a few good scenes with her. Simultaneously, Megan tries to deal with her daughter who knows Megan wasn't there for her in the past and isn't ready to jump into things. Eventually, the crime is solved and Megan comes to an understanding with her daughter.

There's is nothing groundbreaking about the series, or even special, in comparison to another show that aired last night, The Killing. But Dana Delany knows how to be entertaining and compelling, and the crime solving is decent since the writers often inject personality into the other characters.

I like to keep track of ratings, and Body of Proof did great following Dancing With the Stars last Tuesday, getting a 3.0 in the 18-49 demo. I think ABC was trying to garner even more interest for the show, placing it after Desperate Housewives last night, but flopped, getting only 2.0. We'll see how it does this Tuesday.

Score: 8.6/10

Review - Body of Proof Season 1 Episode 1 Pilot

By now procedurals aren't special, and Body of Proof is no different: there is a group of people who solve crimes using autopsies as the focal point. Even the main character, Dr. Megan Hunt, is a near mix of the titular characters of House and Bones, two shows which used to be very good (as far as procedurals go). She pays close attention to detail and makes incredible deductions, drawing from House; she is drawn to dead bodies and their ability to communicate facts, drawing from Bones; and her willingness to speak out at inappropriate times is drawn from both. But this is a formula that works, especially with someone as good as Dana Delany who manages the emotional and fun scenes well.

As far as the rest goes, we'll have to wait to see if it develops. The conflicts with the detectives and chief medical examiner, and the male partner to bounce ideas off are are very generic. Still, Megan's engaging backstory should be enough until the rest jells.

Score: 8.4/10