tv review
Big crimes, small screen; true crime television series and TV documentaries that recreate and reexamine some of the mystifying and grisliest cases in history.
Binge Worthy Criminal Justice
“So, when do I get my money?” Shawn Spencer asks the police. Why? Because he calls in tips to the station and offers them crime tips for reward money-that is, until he is suspected of being one of the criminals in question. As a result, he resorts to lying to the police- telling them that he is in fact, a psychic. “Psych” is a show surrounding the life of Shawn Spencer and his partner Gus. Gus and Shawn couldn’t be more different, and that’s what makes this show hilarious. Gus is a cautious yet curious, reasonable, level-headed pharmaceutical salesman whereas Shawn is a cunning, ambitious (yet highly impulsive) and ironically unemployed son of a former police officer. The problem with Shawn is that he hasn’t kept a job for more than 6 months and has had about 57 since high school. Shawn and Gus butt heads about nearly everything. Gus, neurotic, is always worried that Shawn is going to blow his cover and show everyone that he is a fraud. Shawn discovers his intel through cognition and stuns all who meet him with his intense visions and accuracy. I have watched this show over and over again, all 8 seasons. The sarcasm, the hilarity, the way Gus overreacts and “screams like a girl” or cries and throws up at the discovery of a dead body or crucial evidence, it makes me laugh every single time.
By Kaylatime Valdeandez5 years ago in Criminal
Guilty As Charged: Confessions of a Chicago PD Binger
I am not ashamed to admit that I love watching Chicago PD. When I began viewing the series it had been airing already for a few years so I wanted to go back and catch up. A couple of weeks ago I was checking out Peacock, a free streaming app, and was pleasantly surprised to find every episode available going back to day one. I have been binge watching about 3 episodes daily and am proud to call Chicago PD my guilty sometimes cringe worthy pleasure.
By Marilyn Glover5 years ago in Criminal
Forensic Files
“I was a Soldier - I’m tough. I can and will defend myself.” Is just a couple of the mantras I might have to continuously repeat to myself after watching this crime series every night before bed for over a year. When my boyfriend first found out about my nightly affair, he immediately asked; “What happens when the crimes creeps into your dreams?” Thankfully nothing about this show has crossed into the threshold of my subconscious while I sleep. Now, whether that phenomena, or lack thereof, is due to my nightly ingestion of melatonin gummies or an acquired apathy towards murder, I will let you decide.
By Deenewshhkah Ess5 years ago in Criminal
True Crime
Finally, it’s that time of day when all the chaos has settled down. It’s 9:00 on a Tuesday night. No more kids fighting or asking a thousand questions. No more being pulled in different directions for multiple projects needing to be finished by tomorrow. The dinner dishes have been washed and the kitchen is clean. The kids are in bed and the husband is working late. It is just me, a glass of wine, and the remote control.
By Robyn Moss 5 years ago in Criminal
"Bones"
My boyfriend had dumped me. The next day I was laid off due to budget cuts. My friends had either been his friends or work friends - so now what was I supposed to do? I was new to the city and didn't have anyone with who I could spend my now very ample free time.
By S. J. Murphee5 years ago in Criminal
Louis Theroux: Saville Netflix Review
Until 2012 the world viewed Savile as a man who lived a life of fortune, good will and charity, but this documentary uncovers the lies he told and the charade he showed to the world until his death and later demise. Louis Theroux is a thorough investigative journalist, broadcaster and filmmaker. He reveals many intense and shocking walks of life and meets some interesting characters along the way in all of his work.
By Rebecca Elvina Mennell5 years ago in Criminal
Why I Am Glad I Watched Criminal Minds, and Why You Should Too.
Serial killers. Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Peter Sutcliffe....men who have captured the interest of America. In the last few years, Americans have planted themselves on their couches, popcorn in hand, and turned on the television to watch the Ted Bundy Tapes and The York Ripper.
By Jordan Ziemba5 years ago in Criminal
Review of 'Big Sky' 1.3
Well, that was the best line in Tuesday night's episode 1.3 of Big Sky -- "You kidnapped the wrong girls" -- said by The Big Rick (title of the episode) to Ronald, after Rick retrieves Grace, with two arrows in the leg, after Grace escapes and almost makes her escape good, by getting a fisherman to help before Rick shoots him dead -- with an arrow.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in Criminal
Review of 'Big Sky' 1.2
Big Sky 1.2 continued as one edgy kind of show, especially for network television. Interesting that David Kelley took this to a network -- ABC -- rather than a cable or streaming service, where "the goods," as the show artfully put it, could have been seen in the scene.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in Criminal
Review of 'The Undoing' Finale
So the ending of The Undoing turned out to be one grand hiding in plain site situation: Jonathan, who had been the first suspect, and whom so much of the previous narrative suggested was too obvious to be the killer -- and with more than a few plausible other suspects around, not convincing but not implausible --turns out to be the killer, after all.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in Criminal
Review of 'Tiger King'
“The 'content' of a medium is like the juicy piece of meat carried by the burglar to distract the watchdog of the mind,” Marshall McLuhan famously declared in Understanding Media back in 1964. The content of Tiger King, the runaway global hit documentary on Netflix, are the tigers and other animals in Joe Exotic's Oklahoma zoo, thrown pieces of meat, juicy and otherwise (some is expired meat from supermarkets). But the deeper story, underlying the meat, is Joe Exotic's unquenchable thirst for fame, relentlessly pursued through social media. And in the irony of ironies, he eventually obtained that fame, along with a prison sentence of 22 years for attempted homicide of an animal activist and mistreatment of animals.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in Criminal
Review of 'The Undoing' 1.5
Well, the algorithm and the waiter were by no means the most important features of The Undoing 1.5, on HBO last night, but I didn't want to give away the main thing, actually two main things, in the subtitle, and the algorithm and the waiter were nice touches. Finding that Jonathan's attorney uses Amazon-level algorithms to get the crucial characteristics of the jurors, that was cool. (And Haley's one one outstanding lawyer, isn't she?) And the waiter constantly interrupting the meal that Jonathan, Grace, and Henry were trying to have in the restaurant -- that was a metaphor for this whole little series, being interrupted by all kinds of things, so that after five episodes, we still can't be sure whodunnit.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in Criminal
