Friday This N That

It’s been a while since there’s been a This n That update. I guess there really hasn’t been much to gab about this summer, even though it’s been quite busy.

Last night’s episode of Saving Hope had me blubbering like a baby as Alex & Dawn fought over the decision to take Charlie off life support, as he had signed a DNR. I’m going to take a guess and say that Charlie will continue to breathe without the life support – at least he’d better, because if there’s no Charlie, there’s no reason for me to watch the show. The only reason I started watching was because of Michael Shanks. Without him and the character’s ‘ghostly spirit’ watching over things in the hospital, the show would be just another “ER.” Maybe they’ll have Charlie wake up and still be able to see/talk to the ghostly spirits. I loved seeing Brian Markinson on last night’s episode as well. (Remember him from Sanctuary, The L Word, and more) He just has just a wonderful screen presence in everything he does.

Michael just tweeted yesterday that he’s going to play hockey great, Gordie Howe, in an upcoming CBC tele-movie. It was cute how his former Stargate SG-1 co-star Amanda Tapping tweeted him to say that she had played Colleen Howe earlier in her career. Wouldn’t Michael & Amanda make a wonderful couple? I saw the trailer for Amanda’s new tv movie, Taken Back, that will be on Lifetime on August 11th. Be sure to check it out here. She really needs to be on a new series again, because I really miss her weekly on my tv screen.

Speaking of Amanda – I finally got the Season 4 dvd set of Sanctuary yesterday. It’s such a downer to remember that this wonderful series has ended. I’m glad they gave us over 1 1/2 hours of “extras”, however, I really would have liked more audio commentaries from Amanda. “Nice over-the-boob shot, Martin.” LOL and when she talks about her dad being on set & bringing her tea. That’s always the best part. I really did enjoy the commentary from writer Gillian Horvath on “the depths.” It was fun to learn that the Stargate action figures were there on Henry’s desk as he was testing his F.O.S.S.S. vest. So cute. I loved that they included all of the deleted scenes, especially a drunk Tesla. How could they not keep drunk Tesla in the original episode? And the “New York, 1901” scene really should have been left in, because that gave us a mention of the “Peruvian deep water cave” that was a gateway to Hollow Earth. That would have been a nice clue to the ending revelation of the brand new Sanctuary.


I caught most of “Silence of the Lambs” last night on Syfy. I hadn’t watched that in a long time. It made me remember what a great (but very strange) “relationship” that Hannibal Lecter & Clarice Starling had. It was strangely romantic.

On that note, I heard yesterday that they’ve cast Laurence Fishburne in the upcoming “Hannibal” tv series as Jack Crawford. I can now cross that show off my list of ones to watch. Seriously, Fish? He’s the one who really turned me off CSI, and even Marg couldn’t muster up much chemistry with him – which is quite unusual, because she could even find a way to have a bit of chemistry with David Caruso and Michael Beihn. Maybe the overly dark subject matter of “Hannibal” will be a better fit for Fish. I can’t imagine that I’m going to watch more than the pilot.

One show that I really have enjoyed, even though I’ve missed a few episodes is Longmire. Why does the show have to be on a weekend? Many times, I don’t even turn on my tv on weekends. Thank goodness for A&E’s numerous reruns of this show.


Another show caught in the “weekend” syndrome is Falling Skies. I only caught a few minutes of the season 2 premiere so far this season. I really need to get more into this show, because I love Colin Cunningham and I love Noah Wyle.


One show I never miss, is Rizzoli and Isles. Angie & Sasha are just so great together (even when they’re not together) and I’ve fallen in love with the rest of the cast as well. Now, if they could quit putting their good guest stars as “baddies” so we could have them on the show again. I guess that’s called the “CSI syndrome” as many of my favorites who guested on the show were either dead bodies or baddies, so they couldn’t come back in a recurring role.


My only beef with the show is that they’re not airing a new episode on August 7th, but having the summer finale air on the 14th. Unfortunately, I won’t be home that night, and probably won’t get to watch it until days later (unless I can catch the re-run at the hotel later that night on TNT.)


One show I can’t wait to return is Downton Abbey. I’m so pleased to see that it finally gets the Emmy recognition that it deserves. I think we need a season 3 slogan of “FREE BATES” because I really want to see Bates & Anna together on a regular basis, not with bars between them.


One thing I really don’t understand is promoting a series that doesn’t start until the next year. They did that last year with the reboot of Dallas. Now it seems they’re doing it with “Defiance.” Is it really that bad of a show that you need to promote it that far in advance? Sheesh.


On a final note for this edition of This N That –

I was so sad to hear of the passing of Sherman Hemsley earlier this week. He was a tv icon as George Jefferson, so much so that he never really got over that stereotype. Most of his other characters were just like that, including Deacon Frye on “Amen.” I also saw him in an 80s ‘campy’ movie, “Stewardess School.” He was one of a kind. Rest in peace, Sherman. It’s time to “Move on up to the East side, to that deluxe apartment in the sky” with Weezy.