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Saturday, 7 February 2015

CSI 15.3 "Bad Blood" Review

                                                 
Greg (Eric Szmanda) and Sara (Jorga Fox) investigate a CS which has plenty of blood spatter around the dead man's house, but is too much to have come from a shooting and Greg notices Jack Smith has plenty of books on viruses and diseases.  Sara notices he may be contaminated since his eye has been bleeding blood and could be any pathogen ranging from hemorrhagic fever.  She calls CDC and they are quarantined.  They are going to 'nuke' the place as the Dr Emmett (James Lesure) tells DB (Ted Danson) but that means all the evidence will be lost and they're not allowed to collect the evidence either.  The landlord found the DB so how come he wasn't quarantined either.  DB tells the Doc they need to find out who the shooter was since the DB was shot and this means there's another possible contaminator running around which could lead to an epidemic.  David (David Berman) arrives at the scene and says it should've been him here first but he was preoccupied with another case.

Dr Heather Hanning (Lauren Stamile) introduces herself from Rhineland Labs and she is going to help them with the case and finding which virus they may have been exposed to.  She and Ecklie (Marc Vann) watch Doc (Robert David Hall) performing the autopsy and she suggests he should use scissors instead of a saw since he could cut his Hazmat suit that way.  Doc says he's taking his time and besides, he isn't an amateur that he doesn't know what he's doing.  The Vic's lungs and spleen have been infected and seconds later some blood spurts onto the plastic surrounding the lab and where she and Ecklie are standing.

Nick (George Eads) and Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) go over the CS photos that they uploaded from the CS and he's trying to determine the DB's ID.  Morgan notices a library book which leads them to Id the DB as a Dr Jack  Weaver (Rick Otto) who Greg found was known as Jack Smith, he did say that name was too generic to be his own.  He was obsessed with viruses and was researching and collecting viruses from around the world.  They also discover that Heather knew Jack but didn't tell them this.  DB interviews her with her lawyer, Rudy (Walter Perez) present and she says she hadn't seen Jack for a long time.  He was too emotional about his job and couldn't stand to watch people suffer, so he was relieved of his job.  A policeman also recalls he was called to the scene where Jack was prophecizing about the virus and he wasn't arrested, and here that prophecy has happened and killed him.

Nick thinks that perhaps he was working with someone, a bio terrorist and maybe he was being paid to sell the virus.  The lab has DOD approval since they're researching and developing viruses which the country maybe attacked with one day.  Greg and Sara will be monitored to see if they show any of the symptoms but they feel so helpless.  Greg calls his grandmother and tells her he will visit soon. Also saying that this gives them time to think about what they want to do, like going on that vacation they never went on.  Sara commenting how something like this is what makes them think about doing things.

Nick and Morgan are able to return to Jack's house and look for the missing bullet so they can ID the suspect.  Morgan notices the bullet had ricocheted off the floor and the mark on the floor shows this, meaning he had to have been on the floor when he was shot, Nick manages to find the bullet lodged in the sofa.  Which they ID as belonging to a Sean Steubens (Jake Richardson) he's in the system and Nick and Officer Mitchell (Larry Mitchell) go to his apartment.  Nick sees him inside and he's infected too.  In isolation Nick asks him what happened and he tells him he saw someone in a Hazmat suit, thinking they were cooking up meth, he entered the house, saw the man on the floor, took the briefcase after he panicked and shot Jack when the Hazmat suited person entered the room, saying it was an accident.

DB finally gets to see Greg and Sara and she says that if anything happens they want to go out fighting and want to be working this.  Sara had a relapse and her temp was 104, but it could be a cold or something less serious.  DB tells them what they've found so far.  Greg and Sara look at files and e-mails and Sara finds some where Heather has had meetings with Jack and lied about not seeing him.  Rudy turns up and says that a vial went missing from the lab, which is enough to destroy many lives.  He plays back a recording where Heather tells him they can't report the missing vial.  They think Jack took the vial when she left him alone when he went to the men's room.

Nick and Morgan are able to look at files etc from Heather's office and Morgan finds a letter Heather sent herself when they were in Bolivia in 2006 after the outbreak of the virus.  They were sent there to contain it and it had only infected two people thus far.  But they lied to the people telling them it was just a fever and they entered the place and also died from it.  Jack couldn't handle it and it seems that Heather couldn't either from the letter.  Morgan and Henry ( are able to check the lab and Henry mentions a mitochondrial procedure where anything a person may have touched can be traced and their signature will be unique to them, relating to anything their hands may have picked up from whatever they touched.  Since anyone who entered the lab would be suited, the thief wouldn't have been and would've touched the locker.  Morgan sets up various cultures.

Nick calls her and tells her to be prepared for her jaw to drop.  DB questions Rudy the about a photo that was taken in Bolivia, it shows him in the photo and he says he lost his entire family due to that. The company took care of the children, sending them to school and he wanted to work for them, but could only do so as a lawyer.  He wanted to get back at them and he stole the vial and infected Jack. Not thinking about the consequences of his actions and how many other innocent people he'd infect along the way.

Greg and Sara are given the all clear and David has to take care of Sean who didn't make it.  Sara tells Greg that the virus has an incubation period and is only airborn for two hours, so they weren't infected.  Greg says it's a given and they hug each other.  It's not strange that Asra and Greg ended up together cos they have been friends for a long time and have that brother/sister chemistry between them, but they didn't share many feelings whilst there, possibly for this reason, that they know each other too well, as they both say, "it's a given."  Thus no words are needed (and of course there was no mention of Gil.)

The title referring to the bad blood which was expelled fro the Vics, but also to that which was eating up Rudy for all those years and all he could think of was revenge.

A topical subject of course with the ongoing Ebola virus outbreak and showing how easily these viruses can get out of hand and infect people.  DB calls Finn (Elisabeth Shue) who is still researching in Seattle and all she needs is a date of birth to find out more on the Gig Harbour killer twins case. She wishes she could be there, but DB tells her it's safer where she is, right, so what about all his other staff.   Well we all know what Finn's been up to in Seattle so it's no wonder she hasn't been very successful in her research!  ha.  (Daniel ring any bells!)

Monday, 2 February 2015

Revenge 4.5 "Repercussions" Review

                                                 
Emily (Emily VanCamp) realizes Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) is manipulating David (James Tupper) and that's why she's keeping her away from David.  The press harass Jack (Nick Wechsler) by asking if he's staying away from his father-in-law cos he's going to blame him for Amanda's death.   Margaux (Karinne Vanasse) wants the story on David and wants to know what happened between David and Conrad.  Daniel (Josh Bowman) doesn't want any press and he wants to do things his own way and doesn't want anyone to know about them, so he has more control on his life and his name. Also adding that, "by some miracle" Louise (Elena Satine) chose him for the account.  Oh wake up Daniel, why'd you think that is/was?

Victoria returns to the hotel with David and he's almost run over, no doubt it appears to be a ploy by Victoria so she can keep hold of him and manipulate him some more.  Emily is also there and sees how close he's come to being killed, but who would want David dead, that's a question no one asked. She wants to take him to Marlyand but his being at Amanda's grave just made him ask more questions and he wants to know what happened to "my girl."  Nolan (Gabriel Mann) thinks if Aiden was here he could make Emily see how wrong she is wanting to see David.  He wants her to slow down and even if Victoria got in before her, but she doesn't want to listen.  Nolan says, "only family can get through to him."  Here I was thinking that Emily would go to Jack so he can get in with David, but she does the most stupidest thing of all and goes to Charlotte! Huh!!

Jack's off work and is sent home cos he can do without the press and Alvarez (Nestor Serrano) doesn't want him around.  Ben wants to pursue the Conrad killing case cos that's high profile and it's just been left open.  Yeah the same can be said about the FBI leaving it open too, a bit useless.

Louise is still trying to get the low down on the 'feud' between Victoria and Daniel and he's just falling into her lap, in more ways than one.  He doesn't tell her about Margaux.  Emily wants Charlotte to arrange a meeting with her and David.  Emily tells her Victoria was behind the attack and how she manipulated him by taking him to her grave and how painful that must have been for him.  Charlotte asks if Victoria's behind the attack and why she took him to the grave.  Why doesn't she tell him the truth cos that's what Emily wants to do, but Victoria turns the manipulation around onto Emily and how she's lying and only wants her own way.  So why didn't spineless Charlotte tell him instead of taking him to Jack.

Jack became a cop to get control of his life.  Nolan believes David was the father he wanted and part of him wants to go to him.  Jack doesn't want that cos of Carl and he can't lie about the fact that he's his grandfather.  Nolan says Emily's not thinking the variables and she's "rushing to meet a man that doesn't exist anymore."  Nolan hitting the nail on the head with that comment, cos he's not the man any of them know.

Emily takes the money Margaux was paying the bellboy to get to see David.  She's here to ensure that she's not used by people like her and she's here to protect Amanda and what she would've wanted for her father.  Daniel can't help but get it on with Louise cos she tells him they're both attracted to each other.  She mentions him not having any personal things at his penthouse, yeah think those "multiple rounds of shock therapy" really have gone to Louise's head.

Emily goes to the room and finds that it's Victoria who answers the door, knew that was coming.  As Charlotte takes him to see Jack.  Victoria's desperately trying to turn David against Emily cos she knows the truth and how she treated her.  Victoria wonders what will happen to him by the lies and the death Emily caused in his name; "and now you must live with the repercussions of what you have done."  Or else she must stay hidden "in this pathetic identity."  Victoria's afraid of David leaving her for his daughter.  Charlotte brings out the wedding photos too and insists on David meeting Carl, as well as blabbing about how Amanda used to live at the Stowaway, well, duh she would she since it was Jack's home after all.  Not like Amanda had much of a life.  Meaning all that rouse about being held prisoner was just that on David's part and it seems to be that way. Could David not have recognized Amanda, he barely looked at the photo in the album as if he knows it's not her, or wasn't really interested in looking at it.

David visits Nolan and he's more than overjoyed at this.  He wants to know if he gave her the money and the box so why was she living above a bar, at which point Nolan wanted to tell him why.  He hopes David will trust what he knows in his heart to be true and not listen to others who are trying to manipulate and lie to him.  It's hard for him to remember Amanda.  Emily knows Nolan was right about her wanting to see David.  Jack tells her no one could've stopped her from seeing David.  He won't hold what she's done against her.  He wouldn't stopped loving her.  She had to do what she did to stop what others started.  Nolan says Victoria can't twist the truth.  He's afraid of losing her memory.  Jack says they need to get him away and so she sees Margaux to get her to write the story and to give him the deed to the beach house.

Well actually Margaux gives the deed tot Daniel and calls it business, he doesn't really want anything to do with her either it appears.  Daniel says he wants to make amends for what his father did and Victoria doesn't want him there cos he he'll be closer to Emily of course but she can't exactly tell him that.  She also doesn't want Margaux writing the story, but she can't stop her and Margaux tells her this will cover her debt for the loan.

Ben (Brian Hallisay) has the files taken from him by Alvarez and he doesn't want him pursuing the case, cos he's protecting Victoria.  His biggest suspect was Jack but after talking with his former partner he finds out that Jack has an alibi.  He was with him when Conrad was killed.  He's not going to give up pursuing this though.  Nolan and Emily watch Daniel and Margaux together and Nolan wonders what they should call them, "Maniel or Dangeaux". Personally I like the second one!! It's like a dagger through the heart! Ha.  Well, "D'argaux would've been!"  Ha.

Jack confronts Charlotte about the stunt she pulled and how she's not like Victoria but more like Conrad which she hates and tries to slap him.  It's no wonder she's drinking, it's cos she can't live with what she's become he tells her and later after she binges some more at a club, she leaves with the man who tried to run David over, as recognized by the moon tattoo on his hand.  Oh Charlotte just shoot up some more and be done with it!

David plays the song that he and Amanda used to dance to, "Everybody's talking at me..." and Nolan wonders if she used a remote or a sensor, but Jack tells him she didn't have to.  It's David and his memories, see how dangerous those memories are as e plots his own revenge:

"Evil takes many forms, including those we think we can trust the most.  The anger that spread almost cost me the thing that I valued above all else.  My memories of you, the daughter I still love, infinity times infinity.  And now I can still feel you again which is why I know what I must do, for you were wronged as I was, and by someone I trusted.  There must be repercussions and I swear to you, Amanda, I will have revenge."

There's his raison d'etre and why the show must go one since it's now gone back to its premise: revenge.  Also in a nutshell, he's stated who he's going after, i.e. Victoria, he trusted her and she betrayed him.  Lest it's Nolan but he didn't do anything but help Amanda.  Unless he's thinking he took the money for himself, why else would he go see him and that hug?  But hey if that's the case, then Jack will be on his list too.  Did he sound like he sincerely meant it when he told Jack that he's grown up to be honourable?  Hmm, now that makes me think...he's going to go after all those who are Emily's friends and this puts them in danger.  Well, just a thought!

Funny how Victoria got to say the ep title when Emily confronts her about what she's doing to David and how the lie of her being alive is getting deeper and deeper and harder for her to talk her way out of.  Applying both to Emily and Victoria the most, he won't be pleased that Emily didn't come clean with him sooner, I mean how much more at ease with his life will he need to become before she tells him, especially now Victoria and Charlotte are both against that happening.  It'd be easier for her to tell him now and get it over with, but obviously that'd be too easy and it's now David turn to get his revenge for Amanda and her death.  Thus his narration now.

Having said that David also uses it in his narration at the end.  Wonder when Victoria's getting hold of his journal he's writing now, thought she'd have taken it from his bag when he answered the door to Daniel.  Oh and Daniel comes clean with Louise and wants to start over, strictly business, not what she wanted at all, see she's deranged when she hits her hand on the lift mirror and nothing happens to it.   Speaking of hands, when will Emily's infinity tattoo be seen by David?

Sunday, 1 February 2015

Mr Selfridge Series 3 Episode 2 Review

Harry (Jeremy Piven) is determined for the housing project to go ahead and calls for a Director's meeting, which is objected to by Crabb (Ron Cook) who tells Grove (Tom Goodman-Hill) of his objections.  Grove tells him he should forge on ahead without thinking about it, but this weighs heavily on him to the point where he asks his wife if she thinks him a 'sell-out'.  She tells him to do what his conscience tells him.

Thackeray (Cal McCaninch) is charged with displaying the fashions of Madame Lanvin (Beverly Klein) who will be here later today and her representative, Pierre Longchamp (Edward Akrout) is not happy with the display set up by him.  Pierre storms out of there as he thinks the display is old fashioned and hasn't captured the modern appeal of her designs.  Harry asks Henri (George Fitoussi) and Agnes (Aisling Loftus) to help with the display and see if they can salvage anything, but Thackeray is adamant no one understands what he's trying to convey, even to the point of saying that Harry hasn't been with the store or has its interests at heart since his wife died. "You haven't been the same since Mrs Selfridge died."  Why would he when he's lost someone he loved after all.  Which is the last straw for Harry as he fires him on the spot, "to get out and never come back"  Well that firing was hanging over from last season after everything he did to Henri and was inevitable.

Gordon (Greg Austin) appears to be at a loose end it seems too since he promised Thackeray he could have full say in the display.  As is Violette (Hannah Tointon) when she finds out that Princess Marie (Zoe Wanamaker) suggests to Rosalie (Kara Tointon) after she's returned from her honeymoon with Serge (Leon Ockenden) that she set up her mother's studio as an office for Serge so that she'll see more of him.  Violette objects to this and says that Pa won't approve it either.  When she tells him this he doesn't do much about it saying that Serge is part of the family now which angers her.  Violette asks for a job but as they're already inundated with female staff, there's not much she can do.  She storms out saying she's going shopping cos that's all she's good for.  Then later helps with the display and taking Pierre to the cafe to distract him and win him over whilst the display is being prepared.

Victor (Trystan Gravelle) buys stolen cigarettes for his bar from former soldiers who are nothing more than troublemakers, telling Victor that he came good with his bar.  Talk about leaving the loot on display at the bar, which is seen by the policeman, DI Purkiss (Rocky Marshall) and he tells him he could take on other goods too.  But Victor calls this a 'one off' since it's not about off loading cheap goods but, "staying in charge."

Harry tells Nancy (Kelly Adams) he hopes to by the land so that he can build houses there and hopes to raise the money after a loan approval from the Directors.  Crabb wants to talk with him but he keeps fobbing him off, since he clearly objects to this going ahead.  They can't afford to take the risk for no returns.

Henri has photos taken with Madame Lanvin and is obviously shocked at the flashbulbs going off especially after it's mentioned by one reporter that Henri is a French War hero after he was at Verdun. He's distressed by this and has to leave with Agnes worried about what happened to him there. Violette models the dresses in one of the displays at the fashion event which is a huge success, especially since she's one of the models, which will be a big coup for the papers.

At the board meeting Harry says that for the loan they raise themselves, the government will meet that amount for the housing.  But Crabb raises his objections, pointing out they have a surplus of female staff, have twelve stores now and their delivery service is losing business, they can't let this go ahead.  If they approve it they will lose their profit, which is the name of the game here.  Only Gordon agrees to the proposal, leaving Harry out in the cold.  He also tells his family about the proposal to build housing which his mother knows Rose would be proud of, but the rest aren't impressed particularly Serge.  He tells Harry about Loxley (Aidan McCardle) being interested in funding his plane idea and Harry sternly warns him off Loxley. "Cut off all contact with him immediately!"   Obviously falling on deaf ears.

Serge also blabbing to Loxley about Harry's intention to buy the land which Serge sourced for the airfield for himself.  Loxley intending to ensure Harry digs a large hole for himself.  The hefty bill from the hotel is delivered to Harry and his mother tells the butler to keep this between them.  With the Princess telling her that the apartment is being decorated.  Seems Harry's getting it from all sides, including his family since Rosalie has divided loyalties and what loyalty he had from Violette is clearly diminishing quickly since he objects to her modelling more clothes seeing this as a one off.

Henri gets drunk at Victor's and they talk about the war, with Victor being at the Somme. Pierre comes in with Rosalie an orders Victor to bring them drinks, which he refuses.  When Rosalie asks he tells her only his guests call him Victor and he's not at Selfridge's now, sense some tension there, plus other romantic pursuits too between them in the future.  Agnes arrives to take Henri home.  Whilst Miss Mardle (Amanda Abbington) tells Doris (Lauren Crace) she's not interested in going back to work, that's going backwards, but Grove insists,on begging she come back and run the Fashion department, even if it's temporary.  Doris having had five children by now.  Frank (Samuel West) gets a book deal to write about the returning soldiers and Kitty (Amy Beth Hayes) encourages her sister, Connie (Sacha Parkinson) to go forward in the fashion department and make a success of her job.

See it's all business when Harry steps into and out of the lift, though on this occasion his plans don't go accordingly, he's not giving up.  He insists Nancy have one of the Lanvin suits for her trouble as he seems firmly setting his sights on her now.  Though she resists taking the suit, you can tell her mouth was positively watering and she couldn't refuse it!  Lots of backstabbing going on here and Crabb hands in his resignation but Harry tears it up.  Crabb did what he had to do to look out for the store but it doesn't leave them in very good stead and they've both changed as Crabb tells him.   "It's my job to protect the company, even if that means from you."  Suppose someone has to look out for the store and that's what Crabb is paid to do, though it seems Crabb was a little out of his depth even if he was looking out for him.  As for Loxley, the less said about him the better, but you know things aren't going too well for Harry and you wonder if Loxley will get the upperhand on him this time round.

By 1919 onwards, Harry was living in his Berkeley Square mansion and though it's not shown here yet, construction also began on expanding the flagship store in Oxford Street.

Saturday, 31 January 2015

CSI 15.2 "Buzz Kill" Review

                                               
As a man, Lloyd (Richard Speight Jr) sells marijuana in a legalized store, for medicinal purposes, a woman walks in and tells him to answer his phone, his wife is kidnapped along with his children and she tells him to do what she says.  The woman demands money, but as she's about to walk out, the guard shoots her.  She was the only one who knew where his family was being held.  David (David Berman) tells Nick (George Eads) she doesn't have fingerprints, there's no ID, no car keys, so they don't know how she got there.  Nick hopes they can find something out otherwise the guard has left four people to be killed.

DB (Ted Danson) goes over the Gig Harbour Killer case, just so you know it's actually there in the background, as he plays over what happened last ep and Ecklie telling him to find the evidence to show the twins were behind the killings.  Finn (Elisabeth Shue) walks in and DB tells her they do know Jared was in a foster home and part of the system, so they can go back and find info on him. Finn volunteers to go to Seattle and work the case from there, but we all know it's just so she can have some fun too and see Daniel again!

Lloyd doesn't know who would've done this and is at a loss for words as to why.  He sells drugs so he'll have enemies and rivals of course.  Doc (Robert David Hall) finds the woman was a former cancer suffer, but there's nothing on her body which will provide any ID.  He does notice some sort of black mark on her underarm area and thinks it's from a tattoo.  When the ink entered her body would've absorbed the ink and stored it in the lymph nodes.  As he extracts a lymph node, it oozes ink.  He uses ALS to detect a tattoo.  Greg tries to put the picture together on the database and DB finds a match to a picture.

Video footage from outside the dispensary shows a black Mustang double parked outside, but Sara (Jorga Fox) can't read the number plate.  Sara also comments that shea was nervous, like she didn't want to be here. Nick and Greg (Eric Szmanda) check out the teacher, Allison's (Alycia Grant) house and find her phone there.  It has  similar message on it which turns out to be from her brother, Stuart (Christopher Poehls) who's also been kidnapped.  Actually it was obvious he wasn't really kidnapped and he was behind it, especially since it emerged he has no money or job and that Allison was probably helped him out.  Her bank account reveals $50,000 were deposited into her account and it wasn't from her salary.

Hodges (Wallace Langham) finds that the sticky substance stuck to the bottom of Allison's shoe was black molasses which is used to grow Marijuana and that the car belongs to a friend of hers, Calvin (Matthew Tyler Risch) who was also part of the gang. She got out but he didn't, yet he was always there for her when she called.  Like she did now and he helped her but he drove away after he saw what happened to her.  Also telling Crawford (Alimi Ballard) that Stuart was a loser and that he owed money to some bookie, but he doesn't know his name.

A van is found which appears to be the one that was used in the kidnapping.  As well as Stuart's DB inside.  He's been shot and back at the lab, Greg points out where the bullet is lodged, as well as the void in the van which is clear of blood spatter.  So the shooter would've had blood on them from the shooting and was in the back of the van.  The bookie is found since the bullet is registered in IBIS and matches a gun that Remi (Andrew Fiscella) used to own and he's got many properties scattered across the state.  But he says he wants his lawyer.  Stuart owed him money.  DB suggests they look for evidence on the van so they can pinpoint the location.  So Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) collects bird droppings, dead insects, debris from the tyres etc.  Adding that insects are Nick's thing, and gives the poop to Hodges to analyze, who has to comment on being lumbered with that job.  He finds the birds have been eating berries which are native to the Amazon and Morgan recalls the Mediterranean has those berries which starlings have been eating.  Thus leading once again to Remi.

Lloyd gets a call and drops off the ransom but doesn't get his family back.  Nick and Crawford tell him this was his last chance cos he has no bargaining power now.  As a result of the berries, Sara finds a property close by which Remi just bought and they find the family here.  They're processed at the hospital and analyzing Dina's (Jama Williamson) phone Morgan and Greg see her in the background, thus proving she was in on it with Stuary.  As well as having blood spatter on the sleeve of her cardigan when she shot him.  Stupid woman.  Apparently there's also a CODIS for cannabis as Sara puts it, set up by the FBI which led to Calvin in the first place since he used to sell cannabis  and deliver it to people.  His website went back up after he was released.

This ep was abit of a buzzkill since it was apparent that either or both of the parties had planned their own kidnappings.  I mean seriously how many kidnappers do you know who'd let children watch TV. I first thought it was Lloyd, but it couldn't have been him cos he wouldn't have been able to get away from the police and shoot Stuart unless he had an accomplice, but then he didn't have any motive though.  I mean it was his choice to run the dispensary.  Besides he may have been the Trickster in Supernatural, ha, but he wasn't guilty here.  Funny part was Dina trying to worm her way out of it, as if they don't know how to do their jobs and wouldn't have found evidence she was also behind it. The kicker being the way she tried to bribe DB, well she chose the wrong guy, with him adding there's nothing she can give him that he wants.

The plot has been done many times over in many a TV show and criminals pretending to be Vics of kidnappings and other crimes has been repeated many times over too. I didn't really like this ep that much, mostly routine as I said, killing time before they make any headway with the main arc of this season, the Gig Harbour Killer.

Wednesday, 28 January 2015

Revenge 4.4 "Meteor" Review

                                               
Nolan (Gabriel Mann) wants to report the break-in to the police but Emily (Emily VanCamp) refuses, there's no footage of him on the surveillance cameras either.  Nolan goes behind her back and calls the police, Jack (Nick Wechsler) and Ben (Brian Hallisay) and he wants her to make a statement. Nolan adding that the intruder was armed which makes it an aggravated assault.  Emily wants to do this all alone and Ben thinks the intruder may be injured if he jumped from that height.  He wants a statement since he got his notepad out and will also leave some cars outside for her protection.  Jack knows he'll be in one of them and Ben tells him if he wants Emily, he'd ask her straight out for a date. Jack tells him he doesn't want things complicated with her.  More like he has feelings for her.

Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) arrives at the cabin and Charlotte (Christa B Allen) isn't there, David (James Tupper) was meant to look after her for the night, well she should've been here herself instead of out begging for money.  When she leaves, David self-flagellates himself and later he steals some pills from the store, where he is arrested by two police officers.  Didn't it look like he had planned the entire arrest and made sure he would be caught, what better way to get back into public and what better way than to lead Victoria a merry dance, but also his own way of getting revenge on her.  It seems so apparent that he doesn't believe for one minute that Victoria is innocent of his ordeal and he's just playing her until the right moment.

Victoria finds Charlotte has been getting another prescription filled, cos little Miss hard done by, is upset Victoria made everything about her and she wasn't able to meet her father on her own terms. She later tries to give Daniel (Josh Bowman) money as if that'll make it all right, but he knows she got it from Margaux (Karine Vanasse) saying that cos of Pascal she is practically family.  Louise (Elena Satine) sends over a glass of 1928 champagne which apparently costs an arm and a leg, but Victoria refuses it.  I mean the waiter saying it was from a "secret admirer", how many does Victoria have of those? Ha.  Daniel doesn't want anything to do with her cos once again she's lying, saying that she wants to make amends with him and Charlotte and this is her start.

Louise the try-hard goes all out to seduce Daniel, first by giving him a job and then by getting him to rub cream on her back and if that don't beat all, she also sends him the same bottle of champagne now that he's moved back into the penthouse.  Which he thought was left there by the hotel, really?  He then asks her if she sent Victoria the champagne earlier, cos Louise says it's her mother's fave, as is Victoria's too.  Oh Daniel, you still don't have the brains to put two and tow together cos it can't be a coincidence that champagne was ordered twice in the same day and both times when he's around! Louise hoping that talking about her devil of a mother will make Daniel see her as an ally as they have the same thing in common, when she was trying to impress Victoria not so long ago, so what's her game?

Jack preps the line-up and recognizes David, even holding down the button of the intercom when he says that.  He tries to call Emily but Chief Alvarez (Nestor Serrano) stops him to give him the lowdown on the break-in, since he doesn't want people panicked.  By that time Ben has also called Emily for the line-up and it's too late for Jack to warn her.  She sees David and cries, then says she doesn't recognize anyone.  The prints come in identifying him as David Clarke and the FBI are on their way.  Emily is distraught and overcome with shock, as is Nolan and she wants to see him, but the FBI have the police station on lockdown.  Ben thinks she wants to see David cos of Amanda, but he doesn't know how wrong he is.

David refuses to speak until Victoria arrives with a lawyer (Susan (Lola Glaudini) after Alvarez calls Victoria and tells her about David.  He doesn't want the lawyer and he makes a statement of how he was stabbed in prison, but he survived and Conrad kept him locked up for ten years.  When he was tortured and beaten, showing him the marks on his back.  He can also lead them to the place where he was kept and his story needs to be checked.  FBI Agent Steigel (LaMonica Garrett) agrees to release him since his name was cleared by Conrad's confession and he also says that Conrad was killed six months ago.

Victoria tells David she wants to stand by him and Charlotte is on her way.  He tells her he won't be held prisoner by anyone anymore, not even her.  She needs him, but you know what, he doesn't need her.  Emily needs to see him and by now the story is breaking news.  Ben knows Jack will want to see David for his wife, but he says he can't see him now and wants to leave already.  Emily arrives at the press conference with Nolan, but David introduces Victoria and Charlotte to stand by him as his family, which is exactly what Victoria wanted, to shut Emily out.  She smirks at Emily.  Can't believe David didn't see Emily there, and to want to stand by Charlotte, really, what a worthless daughter!

Have to say the David reveal was unexpected and was one of the highlights of this ep, let's face it, a lot has been lacking in this new season.  It's a shame the big reunion between long lost father and daughter was behind a glass window and one-sided only!  He still doesn't know Amanda is alive and Victoria certainly isn't going to tell him.  David's press conference was eerily similar to all those Conrad and Victoria used to hold didn't, as if David had been watching them all along and planning to make his move.  Was he really held hostage by Conrad, it doesn't seem that likely.  But then everyone's been lying left, right and centre, so who knows what the truth is anymore.

One thing, the sound is far too low on the voices and needs to be turned a notch up and the music needs to be lowered a tad!  It garbles their voices especially Emily and Victoria!

Sunday, 25 January 2015

Mr Selfridge Series 3 Episode 1 Review

                                                  
The episode opens with Rose's funeral as the family say goodbye to their mother and Harry (Jeremy Piven) bids farewell to his "beloved Rose."  As everyone is lost without her.
Harry returns to London via plane after acquiring another store in Ireland to become part of the Selfridge's name.  He's greeted by press and one asks when he's buying the land for the new aerodrome in Acton.  He doesn't have a clue what they're talking about and Gordon (Greg Austin) drives him home. His daughter Rosalie (Kara Tointon) is getting married to Serge de Boltoff (Leon Ockenden) and plans are underway for the wedding and reception to be held at the rooftop garden. Mr Crabb  (Ron Cook) is worried about their finances which are stretched already, but Harry hasn't spared anything for the wedding.

Apparently Rosalie is marring a playboy and one who's into planes but is plainly clueless and penniless and it's apparent he only married her for the money.  As shown by his mother Princess Marie (Zoe Wanamaker), another penniless Russian and to put it bluntly, a freeloader!  Also back is Lord Loxley (Aidan McArdle) who is intent on revenge cos Harry took away May, i.e. what was his. He funded her for the divorce.  Miles Edgerton (Raymond Coulthard) has to work for a living now and thinks Loxley should just "draw a line" and forget this vendetta, but of course he's not that sort of a man as we saw from last series.

Peacocks have been ordered for the wedding and crates of vodka too for the in-laws and they splurge and get drunk on this free booze.  Harry doesn't know what he and Rosalie have let themselves in for. As Serge leaves Rosalie and gets drunk,  Rosalie sits on her own.  She's clearly unhappy and later tells Harry she misses her mother and doesn't know what to do.  Miss Mardle (Amanda Abbington)gets a telegram for Agnes (Aisling Loftus) and takes it to the store for her, which has been closed for the event, much to the chagrin of Mr Crabb once more.  Grove (Tom Goodman-Hill) telling him the shoppers will return the next day.  Agnes reads the telegram and it says that Henri (Gregory Fitoussi) is alive and coming home, having been discharged from the hospital.  But he doesn't say why.  Seems he's suffering from shellshock or some such condition as later on Miss Mardle asks him to change a fuse and he begins to see fellow dead soldiers.

Kitty (Amy Beth Hayes) has also married Frank Edwards (Samuel West) now and turns up in a dress that is a similar colour to that of the Princess. Henri arrives at the wedding in his uniform and Miss Mardle is morning the loss of Florian.  As we're in 1919 now, it seems everyone who went to war and was meant to return has.  Harry is glad to see Henri whilst the in-laws are boisterous and loud.  Serge takes it upon himself to make a speech which the Princess cuts short after overhearing Kitty remark how he talks a lot.  Then smashes the glass.

Victor (Trystan Gravelle) has opened a club it seems instead of a restaurant and is hiring a Dixie band, as well as paying off the police so that he can stay open after hours, something which will come back to bite him. Geroge (Calum Callaghan) isn't happy at the store and especially with the bickering between the male and female wrokers as the men return from war.  He leaves the job and wants to watch Victor's back at the club, as he pays off the policeman with more money to save Victor from having unsavoury business pass through his club.  He also tells him that Agnes married Henri. It seems, Victor's brother, Franco did not return from the war either.

It seems everyone is of the opinion that Harry has made up his mind about the aerodrome and Serge has been spreading the news around town and to the press.  Rosalie is clearly unhappy as she comes to the store to buy china for the house that Harry is renting for them.  Since Serge skipped their honeymoon breakfast to meet with Loxley about funding his business and other pursuits.  As Loxley also learns that Harry doesn't own the entire store.  Rosalie said it herself, she's marrying her father, yes, playboy, yes wanting to make money, but unlike Serge he did actually make his own fortune, as well as squandering it away too.  Even Harry seemed despondent when Rosalie said this to him and later, Henri says something similar when he adds that Serge is just like they were at his age.

Harry calls the entire family together for champagne.  A woman named Nancy Webb (Kelly Adams) arrives at the store and asks him if he's buying the land since Lord Meadow wants to buy it but has pulled out as he's heard Harry may be bidding too and they wanted it to build 'housing for heroes.' Subsidized housing for those returning from the war.  She's got her own company and has a degree too.  Harry says that he hasn't made up his mind about the land and will be in touch, but he likes the idea since his late wife designed cottages for artists in the US.  Gordon tells Harry that the women must be moved from the loading bay and it's a good idea if they're sacked.  However he will find jobs for them elsewhere and train them if necessary, even if it'll cost money. Reminding Gordon that his mother made their uniforms for them and it's one way of remembering her.

At the meeting he tells the family that Rosalie and Serge will be living with them at the house, as it's a good way for the families to get to know each other, also Serge's mother will not be moving in with them.  She says she'll move back to her apartment in Eton Square, but instead rocks up to a fancy hotel for an indefinite stay, charged to the Selfridge account.  See freeloaders!
Harry finds Rose's painting of the cottages and looks at the land for himself, as this is something he can do and would be a fitting legacy and lasting tribute to Rose.

Not much happening this ep, but more of a way of setting up stories for future episodes to come.  All the cast is involved in some plot or another, from Agnes having to learn the hard way what ails Henri, Miss Mardle having to move on from losing Florian and most of all Harry having to deal with the in-laws and of course Loxley when he finds out about him, which doesn't appear will be that early on. He also tells Serge he'll have to answer to him if he's not good to Rosalie and Serge mutters he'd like to see him try.  Well obviously Harry will take him on.  Seems Nancy Webb may be some sort of a future love interest for Harry, but it's early days yet.  However as she's only in two eps, this seems unlikely, oh never mind! Ha.

This series is to be much more darker and already you can see the storm clouds gathering and the effect that losing Rose had on Selfridge both in his private and public life and how he was distant from his family. No Lady May, now she will be missed!

Apparently the real Rosalie and Segre had a daughter and he built a bi-plane, but only one and wasn't in step with the Russian government, especially after the Russian revolution.

Saturday, 24 January 2015

CSI 15.1 "The CSI Effect" Review

                                                     
This title seemed catchy enough especially considering the subject matter, the so-called copy cat killer, but that he was copying the CSIs and was processing the CS and mapping out areas for the CSIs already, thus the 'CSI Effect.'  If you recall when CSI first started there were many articles about how the show affected the number of people wanting to become CSIs and study forensics and criminalistics.  I even mentioned a part about it in my CSI:NY book, yes cos the introduction and early part was about all three CSI shows.

Finn (Elisabeth Shue) is locked in her car and a bomb is about to go off, a distorted voice asks DB (Ted Danson) "Who am I?" and he doesn't reply.  Though it should have been him asking, "Who are you?"  Ha. The timer on the bomb changes from one hour to a minute and we get to:
3 Days Earlier
which finds Finn in the car with a former detective Daniel Shaw (Mark Valley) who is now a PI. He's here investigating the disappearance of a college student named Emily and he doesn't tell Finn yet that his partner, Kerri also a PI now is missing whilst working the same case.  Though he didn't expect to stumble on the Gig Harbour Killer.  Now you should have recalled that name going back all the way to S12.1 73 Seconds and with the arrival of DB as head of the lab.  As Sara (Jorja Fox) congratulates him on catching the Gig Harbour Killer

DB, Finn, Daniel and Kerri all worked on the serial killer case back in Seattle and he even stalked DB's daughter, Maya, to the point where she had to have protection for herself and her family.  The Gig Harbour Killer actually tuned out to be Jared Briscoe (Mark-Paul Gosselaar).  He murdered five college students, All blondes and DB found him when the evidence pointed to a boat where he found more evidence relating to the killer.  Jared even turns up and fights with DB.  Here he also found photos of himself, Finn, Maya.

Jared was sentenced to death row after being convicted but after four years and five failed appeal attempts later he is still there.  He wouldn't give up any of the whereabouts of three of his Vics.  Nick (George Eads) and Sara (Jorga Fox) process the current CS where Emily was supposedly meant to have been found and Nick thinks that DB processed the scene already, as well as stringing the blood spatter.  Even if Nick was late, DB didn't do it, it was already done and there was no DB either, but a fish gaff was found at the CS.  Being the murder weapon.

DB also tells Nick that this appears to be the work of a copycat killer since Jared is still in prison. DB wants to interview Jared in person and has a requested a transfer to Vegas.  Ecklie (Marc Vann) is furious about this cos DB has pull, he went behind his back and asked for this.  Since it's also a reflection on the department.  DB needs to do this even if it looks like he has a personal motive behind it.

As Nick processes the CS for a second time, for their own evidence, Sara does remark that everything was done as if a real CS had been over the scene, as well as there being green and orange CS stringing done.  That looked good, always liked that in the show, though they don't use that much anymore, it's mostly laser stringing if they do that.  It was cool, until we find out that Hodges (Wallace Langham) finds the string was made from human tissue.  What was even more cool was Nick wanting to use the lab's 3D mapping system which Ecklie invested in to take 3D photos of the CS, basically like a helicopter and giving a 360 degree picture of the entire CS.

The DNA also belongs to Emily who went missing five weeks ago from Seattle, as said that was why Daniel was here.  Though Finn doesn't want to share much with him especially since she tells him he wasn't that good in the back of the car.  Finn's signature trademark she leaves behind wherever she's been, no really, is there anyone she hasn't been with or chased after.  Daniel and Kerri were hired by Emily's parents to find her, he couldn't get hold of her, so he took a trip to Vegas for himself.  Her last known address was at a coffeshop and looking at the photo from the footage, she's seen with a man wearing a hat.  Finn notices that he runs his hand under the table which means there should be some DNA left behind.  Greg (Eric Szmanda) has the task of doing the honours and finds there is DNA from a middle finger.  As Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) comments, as have so many before them, he's giving them the finger.

The print belongs to Jared Briscoe.  When DB talks with him, he tells him he lost his finger in prison, someone bit it off and he swallowed it, he didn't get it back, so maybe someone sold it.  Obviously you know where this is going from the start since DNA evidence from twins is the only viable way in which this DNA could've turned up there.  DB also tells him Emily and Kerri are both missing.   DB has to question whether Jared is the real killer, but Jared confessed he was.  Or that he was probably a psycho.

Kerri's car has been found and Sara tells Finn and Daniel that it was cleaned.  There was however, some dots on the window which look like spatter, but weren't as it's an unusual pattern.  Obviously it was a constellation of some sort, which is what I said, it wouldn't be a random pattern.  Files relating to the Gig Harbour Killer and Kerri's diary are also found.  Where she was pinpointing things to the killer.  Kerri had a meeting with Mark Turner(Rob Nagle) and when Finn and Daniel question him, he states he's the counsel for Jared and was hired by his brother Paul Winthrop.  Then we get the age old story about twins being set to separate homes, one comes good and the other doesn't.  Finn shows him the photo from the coffeeshop and he used his middle finger to position it on the table.  Giving Finn an easy feeling that something isn't right here.

She tells this to DB but is given the same word of warning from Ecklie.  That they're making this too personal.  In the flashback from 2009 in Seattle, we see that Finn is the one who shot Jared, and he says he should finish it off.  Finn telling him she's got his back.  She tells them now she should've finished him off and Ecklie warns her about telling that to anyone else.  Finn also thinks Jared had an accomplice.  DB doubts whether Jared even masterminded the killings.

The DNA results on the human string belongs to the three Vics who were never found.  Greg finds the blood spatter on the ceiling of the car belongs to the constellation Gemini, Pollux and Castor and Nick says he found the same thing in the blood spatter.  There were two other signatures in the blood that looked strange.  They too were of Gemini.  Also the green strings from the CS also formed the same Gemini constellation.  This leads to the location of where Emily's DB was meant to be and the same company also owned a chemical plant.  Here the killer has already dug up three mass graves and exhumed the DBs.  Belonging to the Vics.  One of them wears a college ring and David (David Berman) finds some evidence in the mouth of one of the Vics where she bit the killer.  As well as hair.

Nick runs the DNA and we don't find out who it's a match to, until we return to Finn in the car.  DB is called again and this time he answers the killer's question, saying he knows he's the Gig Harbour Killer.  Finn is released and Ecklie once again admonishes DB for saying that, since he's opened up a can of worms now.  If he's right, he may have sent an innocent man to Death Row and he needs to solve this case.  DB says he knows that and he'll have to deal with it, but we know he's not wrong and that both of them were involved.  With Paul looking that bit more of a psychopath and actually fitting the picture of this criminal mastermind.

Cue to the end of the ep with the song playing and Paul and Jared walking together to be interviewed. As well as the CSIs putting together the puzzle.  Also why didn't they analyze the fingerprint when Paul touched the photo, that was an obvious clue, especially since they may have identical DNA, but they wouldn't have the same prints.  That was overlooked by Finn, who always drops the ball whenever she has some flirtation with some man or another.  Why does she always have to be the one in trouble and she wasn't utilized for her blood spatter expertise here either.  Hasn't done much of that lately as I said in my previous reviews, that after all is her forte.

So the show goes back to another serial killer storyline this season, but I have yet to see if they will actually match the brilliance of the Miniature Serial Killer storyline, as this opens up a new arc of the season.  Also it harks back to the early season of CSI when Grissom was dealing with Paul Millander and he left similar clues for him, such as the obviously 'faked' hand/print.

The end song was Come With Me Now by Kongos.  Also funny did you see when Greg pulled up the results of Jared's DNA, someone made a booboo and listed his Hair as Caucasian and his race as Brown. Oh please! ha.  Mark Valley was also in 1.13 Boom ep of CSI.

So as George is leaving the show at the end of the season, make the most of him now!

Monday, 19 January 2015

Revenge 4.3 "Ashes" Review

                                                
Emily (Emily VanCamp) gets rescued by Jack (Nick Wechsler) just in the nick as he goes inside to see if he can salvage anything and finds her lying there. Charlotte (Christa B Allen) watches in horror as she sees her rescued but once gain drippy Charlotte (or Harlot as I'd call her) gets away with another attempted murder.  It's the never ending Grayson circle, they all have killer blood in them and I don't mean that in a nice way.  Victoria's (Madeleine Stowe) still scheming to ensure David (James Tupper) gets revenge on Emily for everything she's done to her and her children and Louise (Elena Satine) accidentally on purpose bumps into her after she speaks with Daniel (Josh Bowman) who's still under the impression that Victoria was living it up for six months . Victoria is in dire need of funds and thinks that Daniel begin the head of the family now, would have some stashed away for a rainy day. But he's skint of course.

Louise needs to speak with Victoria but she's too busy trying to help her own children specifically Charlotte who she takes to meet with David.  He can't believe he's actually seeing her and she can't believe he's alive, but Victoria makes her out to be good saying she brought Conrad down with that confession and how she's all goodness and light, blah!  Daniel and Margaux (Karinne Vanasse) have their night of passion but he can't find work cos he's name's mud and so Louise cunningly encounters him in the hotel bar after he's thrown out for not paying his bill for over three months.  She pretends her financial advisor is selling off her investments when she doesn't want him to and Daniel says that if she doesn't pay him then he can't be her advisor anymore.

Emily finds out where Charlotte is cos Nolan (Gabriel Mann) tracks her GPS and he's glad she's alive and sets to work on fixing her alarm system, cos she's gonna need it.  She'll take care of Charlotte since she's the only one who knows what she did and she still has this stupid sense of loyalty as if she owes her. Charlotte was a lost cause even before Emily came here, so really she owes her nothing. Jack finds out from the man Charlotte told the bar was empty that he saw her run out.  So he knows now too but obviously Emily talks him round.  He doesn't want the Stowaway anymore and he manages to salvage a photo of her and Jack together when little.

Emily pays Charlotte a visit to the cabin when David conveniently happens to be away and Victoria threatens her with a shotgun, but shooting's too good for her, she wants her to suffer little by little. Charlotte listens to what she has to say and Emily tells Victoria to end it now, she keeps looking to make sure David doesn't turn up.  Later Victoria goes grovelling for a handout to Margaux as she's family now, but wont accept anything unless it was a loan.  How could Margaux say she doesn't know of Victoria's predicament considering she knows Daniel is broke.

Victoria tells David how Emily was here and he goes to knife her in bed!  He recognizes her, of course he does but it doesn't click in that instance since Nolan gets the cameras up and running, well some of them and stops him.  Of course she's got that photo now as well, but he didn't have time to look at it.  It's just dragging out the inevitable longer bit by bit, that he will find out Emily is Amanda, he's her father, how can he not know or recognize her.

Ben (Brian Hallisay) finds Emily's car in the woods and it's like he's stalking her, I mean he turns up everywhere she goes, but she tells him she's not looking for company anytime soon.  No, it's Emily and Jack isn't it, always has been.  The only way any of this revenge plot can be salvaged is if David is playing Victoria for betraying him and will ultimately get payback for his time in prison and losing his daughter.  So how come the Fire Department missed that big can of accelerant and put it down to an accident!  Amateurs or what. Ha.

As for the title well it's more like it's referring to Emily rising from the ashes once again like a phoenix and that, let's face it Victoria et al, she's invincible! Where'd Victoria salvage that dress from? Ha.

Monday, 12 January 2015

Revenge 4.2 "Disclosure" Review

                                             
Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) tells David (James Tupper) that she cares for him, he wraps his hands around her neck and strangles, which was too good for her.  She awakes in the van cos she was only dreaming. He takes her to where he was hiding out all those years, which resembles a converted jail cell.  She tells him she loves him and he her, but she's got something up her sleeve and it's called revenge. You know, hell hath no fury and all that.  Claiming she never stopped loving him and Conrad threatened her when she wanted to go to the DA and tell the truth.  He also threatened their children.  He finally admits he killed Conrad  after he heard his confession cos he would've dragged her down with him. Victoria trying to hide a steak knife from him, as the waitress points out she's dropped her knife. David knows she's worried and is afraid of him.

He assures her he's not here to hurt her but he wants to see Charlotte (Christa B Allen) and he read about what happened to the boat and to Amanda. Of course when Victoria was referring to boat, it could've taken to mean what happened to Emily (Emily VanCamp) on the boat on her honeymoon with Daniel (Josh Bowman) when he shot her, but alas she was not.   David wants to meet Charlotte but the question remains of how Charlotte will accept that revelation, since she's on the edge.  She hasn't really accepted much of anything.  Also Victoria must be deluding herself thinking that Emily and David will never meet and she does know what he looks like, even if he doesn't know she's still alive, then he also knows Nolan (Gabriel Mann) and vice versa and of course their paths too will cross.  How can Victoria get away with making David take revenge on Emily.  Didn't realize David was so gullible as to believe anything she has to say.  He wasn't the love of her life, not two minutes ago she was pining for Pascal.

Daniel and Margaux (Karine Vanasse) set up Gideon (Daniel Zovatto) first Charlotte catches him with another woman and she naively believes that he actually was interested in her, Charlotte needs to grow up and grow a brain too.  She tells Daniel she cashed the cheque without paying the rent.  But he sees Emily there and hangs up on her.  Daniel says there no longer are any Grayson's after what Emily's done.  She's here to see a friend and that person was Charlotte but she can't find her.  Nolan also realizes Emily hasn't given up the revenge business and comments on how he thought he had a "revenge-free Summer."

Nolan locates Charlotte using GPS and tells Emily she should be right on top of her with her Manolo's.  She looks up to see Charlotte about to jump.  But doesn't succeed in talking her out of it saying she's been trying to be there for her.  Instead Jack's (Nick Wechsler) partner, Ben (Brian Hallisay) tackles her off the edge, hurting his shoulder in the process.  He's set his sights on Emily and asks Jack about her past.  OH look, fun being a policeman, as they sat there in an earlier scene with the speed gun! Ha.  Jack tells him she and Amanda were in juvvie together, now did he need to do that since it got his interest peeked.  He also asks Emily what she was doing at the hotel, but she fobs him off saying she nearly lost her friend.  Jack also warns him off Emily cos she's not looking for anyone right now.

Jack brings Charlotte to the beachhouse since she was released by the doctor and says she can only be helped by family.  Emily admits she's Amanda and she wanted to tell her but couldn't.  Charlotte saying all she could think of was revenge and not her.  Emily shows Charlotte the wooden box with the journals but she just breaks it before storming off.  Cos you know, it's always about Charlotte isn't it!  Nolan tells Emily she won't forgive her overnight and just then she gets a call from her.  Emily arrives at the Stowaway with Charlotte telling her to read from the pad cos if she talks to her she'll get angry, as she clobbers her from behind.  That was very Victoria of her.  See she is nothing but Victoria's daughter.  Then sets fire to the Stowaway.  Yeah immature Charlotte, that's really yours to burn as you please!  Now we have mother and daughter out for revenge.  Oh should also add, Daniel is also like them too. So now now all of Victoria's children have had murder in mind and have gone through with it, including Patrick.

Daniel sets Gideon up at the meeting with a magazine owner and calls a reporter too, a woman walks in and takes drugs from Gideon's pocket saying he owes her.  Of course that makes the papers but Margaux goes one better when Gideon realizes she knows about the redhead.  He threatens her and she tells him she'll arrange a meeting with the man in London but he wants to fly tonight.  At the airport he's arrested with more drugs as Daniel and Margaux celebrate by going full speed ahead on the office desk! Ha.  Well she got over Jack quickly! She's also very trusting of Daniel all of a sudden.

That all seemed too convenient and quite frankly that entire Margaux/Daniel storyline is as boring as Charlotte running around playing up! Missing that whole Emily narration part now, as I said the tables are turned and she's in the firing line now.  didn't think this was the right moment for Emily to admit who she was and that she kidnapped her, I mean she just tried to end it all, as well as being on drugs.  Cos this sent her over the edge even more, though sadly not literally!

John Terlesky is now supervising producer on the show, as well as directing some eps too. He was David Taylor in shortlived show, Legmen, alongside Bruce Greenwood.

Monday, 5 January 2015

Revenge 4.1 "Renaissance" Review

                                              
Victoria: "In my lifetime, I've come to understand that there are three ways for a person to disappear.  The first is to die.  The second is to lie.  And the last is to be reborn."  Clearly Victoria's on her second bout of this, as she lies to her therapy group, "it was after my former husband's death six months ago that my transformation began.  I made my peace with those who have wronged me and with those who I've wronged.  No one more so than Emily Thorne."

This time round the revenge tables and stakes are reversed as we get Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) becoming Emily (Emily VanCamp) as Emily lives it up in the Grayson mansion she bought.  As we know the Grayson name is now dirt and Victoria plans on colluding with her fellow 'inmates' to get out of the psych hospital.  Making friends inside she manages to get hold of a phone, courtesy of Phyllis (Yeardley Smith) but calls the house where Emily is the one who answers it.  Notifying the doc of Victoria's call.  But Victoria also gets a new ally to use in terms of planning her getaway.  This time round it's a girl, Louise (Elena Satine) whose mother has committed her so she can get over her father's death, or as she puts it, to make her insane.  Victoria uses her trunk to get Phyllis locked inside so she can leave.  As a diversion the sprinklers are put on and she manages to get away, but leaving her 'poppet' Louise behind.

Emily crashes Nolan's (Gabriel Mann) car into another woman's, Nancy (Alicia Lagano) and we know Emily can't quite leave the revenge behind, but more importantly, she can't leave the addiction behind of helping others, hence a reason why she can't reveal herself as Amanda Clark.  Even Nolan calls her out on this at the lavish party she throws, she invites Nancy over to pay her the cheque for the damage to the car and also reveals the man who killed her fiance, by substituting the name of his mistress, 'Valerie' on the boat to be launched, instead of his wife's, Jennifer.   Nancy telling Emily she was angry but she got over it, cos he'll get out anyway and what good will it do her now to see 'justice' done.  Something Emily realizes is that she can't help people who don't want to be helped, or who are not her, those vying for revenge.

No matter though since Victoria pays her a visit and tells her the revenge will all be hers now, which is why I said she's going to be Emily now.  She says she wants to end this and she wants Pascal back, Emily adding she wants Aiden back.  Also saying Emily should've admitted she was Amanda when she got here and things would've been different.  Also that she feels she's like Emily now when she came out of juvvie.  But then Victoria gets taken by David (James Tupper) who chloroforms her.  After deciding it's time to return home.  A shame Emily didn't see him hiding out in the dark in her beach house, but her first thought was of Aiden whom she found lying there after he was killed.  Thinking that Nancy was the only one who could sympathize with her cos she went through the same thing.  But it wasn't the same thing, she did lose him, only she moved on instead of careering off the tracks.

Jack (Nick Wechsler) has become a policeman now. albeit a rookie and is teased that it's cos of the kidnapping by Ben (Brian Hallisay) when Charlotte (Christa B Allen) was kidnapped, but he wanted to do some good when he saw people get away with murder for so long (meaning the Grayson's). Charlotte takes Carl from nursery just to make Jack worry and to get him to admit he kidnapped her, which he denies.  He later brings Ben to Emily's party where he finds Charlotte taking drugs along with Gideon (Daniel Zovatto) who's no doubt being encouraging her.  Then again Charlotte always was a waste of space and as Emily tells Nolan that's one reason why she's still here, cos of her.  Little good that does.  Ben arrests her, but Jack has to talk him out of it cos she's family.  Charlotte also scams $7,000 for rent from Daniel (Josh Bowman) which isn't for rent of course and it's obvious Daniel doesn't have any money.  Selling his car at a loss, but also having resigned from his position at the magazine.

Nolan tells Margaux (Karine Vanasse) about Gideon and tells her to ask Daniel about the 'redhead.' The redhead being the woman Gideon took compromising photos of with Daniel after she ODed, with a little help from him.  I couldn't help think of, "oh how the mighty have fallen" when I was writing this! Ha.  Then Daniel is no saint, he did shoot Emily after all and got away with it.

I didn't find this episode as interesting as the other season openers, no longer done is the 'x number' of months earlier ploy and then coming back to the present day, I missed that.  Wonder if Emily's narration will return or if it'll be Victoria doing all of them from now on.  Lots of questions, here's hoping the season will improve over time.  Oh and did I mention Nolan brings in a throne for Emily, "long live the new queen", now if that isn't a reversal of fortune or taking over from Victoria, then I don't know what is.  But I still miss Victoria's first throne, er chair!  David, Victoria and Emily playing happy families, I think not!