Crime Drama TV

THE BAU TEAM TRACKS A FEMALE SERIAL KILLER WHO TARGETS POWERFUL BUSINESS EXECUTIVES, ON “CRIMINAL MINDS,” WEDNESDAY, FEB. 25

“Pleasure Is My Business” -  The team searches for a female suspect who uses her professional skills as a high class call girl to lure and kill high-powered executives, on CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, Feb. 25 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

SERIES REGULARS:
David Rossi………………………….. Joe Mantegna
Aaron Hotchner………………….. Thomas Gibson
Emily Prentiss……………………… Paget Brewster
Derek Morgan…………………….. Shemar Moore
Dr. Spencer Reid……….. Matthew Gray Gubler
Jennifer Jareau…………………………… A.J. Cook
Penelope Garcia……………… Kirsten Vangsness

GUEST CAST:
Megan Kane……………………….. Brianna Brown
Ellen Daniels……………………….. Catherine Dent
Andrew Kane…………………………….. John Getz
A.G. Patrick Jackson……………… Chet Grissom
Mrs. Yvonne Ashford………. Kristin Richardson
Lauren ……………………………………. Nora Dunn
Hoyt Ashford……………………………. Rick Dano
Customer…………………………… Patrick W. Day
Joseph Fielding……………………… James Rekart
Security Guard……………… Robert John Brewer
Larry Bartlett…………………… Richard V. Licata
Lawyer………………….. Felice Heather Monteith
Lawyer #2…………………. Gregg Edward Perrie
Trent……………………………………. Dirk Blocker
Allison Barnes……………………….. Abigail Eiland
Katherine…………………………….. Melissa Keller
Jack Hotchner……………………….. Cade Owens

WRITTEN BY: Breen Frazier
DIRECTED BY: Gwyneth Horder-Payton

Via CBS

THE TEAM SEARCHES FOR A MOTHER AND HER INFANT SON WHO DISAPPEAR AFTER A SELF-DEFENSE CLASS, ON “WITHOUT A TRACE,” TUESDAY, FEB. 24

“Skeletons” - The team tries to find a woman and her infant son who go missing after attending a self-defense class, on WITHOUT A TRACE, Tuesday, Feb. 24 (10:01-11:00 PM, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network.

SERIES REGULARS:
Jack Malone……………………. Anthony LaPaglia
Samantha Spade…………… Poppy Montgomery
Vivian Johnson…………. Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Danny Taylor…………………… Enrique Murciano
Martin Fitzgerald………………………… Eric Close
Elena Delgado…………………… Roselyn Sanchez

GUEST CAST:
Kara Westfield…………………….. Shelby Fenner
Jonah Westfield…………………………… Bill Heck
Tim Lancaster…………………………… Matt Levin
Wyatt Brody……………………………… Hal Ozsan
Andrew O’Malley…………… Nick Von Esmarch
Giselle Fernandez……………. Alexandra Barreto
Jamie………………………………….. Susane E. Lee
Lynne…………………………….. Cindy Drummond
ND Agent……………………………. John L. Curtis
Nyak Policeman……………………… Justin Alston

WRITTEN BY: Diego Gutierrez & Gwendolyn M. Parker
DIRECTED BY: Diego Gutierrez & Bruce Rasmussen

Via: CBS

At the recent Television Critics Association press tour, the President of Fox Television, Kevin Reilly, told reporters on the status of many of its drama series like Terminator, Dollhouse, Fringe and a new program called Virtuality.

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SAM AND CHRIS ARE DRAWN INTO A ROCK STAR’S OUTRAGEOUS WORLD THAT BECOMES MORE BIZARRE AFTER A POSSIBLE UFO CLOSE ENCOUNTER, ON ABC’S “LIFE ON MARS”

“Let All the Children Boogie” - Death threats targeting rock sensation Sebastian Grace expose Sam and Chris to the anything-goes rock and roll lifestyle, including Grace’s groupie, “Rocket Girl,” and an FBI agent known as “The Sorcerer.” But is this over-the-top world also out of this world? It certainly seems so after Chris finds Sebastian and “Rocket Girl” watching and waiting for UFOs in a desolate area of New Jersey known as the Meadowlands. The otherworldly mystery builds as the groupie disappears, and Sam believes he may finally have found a way back from the 1970s to 2009, on “Life on Mars,” WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11 (10:02-11:00 p.m., ET) on ABC Television Network.

“Life on Mars” stars Jason O’Mara as Detective Sam Tyler, Harvey Keitel as Lieutenant Gene Hunt, Michael Imperioli as Detective Ray Carling, Gretchen Mol as Annie Norris and Jonathan Murphy as Detective Chris Skelton.

Guest starring are Wallace Shawn as “The Sorcerer,” Cheyenne Jackson as Sebastian Grace, Alexandra Dadario as “Rocket Girl,” Maggie Siff as Maria Belanger, John Cenatiempo as Sizable Ted, Kristen Connolly as Donna, Manoel Felciano as Bradley Thomas, Duke Valenti as Grizzly, Isabelle Chester as Lulu, Jessalyn Wanlim as Sweet Jane, Robert Clohessy as Frank Wyatt, Del Pentecost as Carl Stefanski, Kevin Henderson as uniformed New Jersey cop and Robert L. Putterman as desk sergeant.

“Let All the Children Boogie” was written by Phil M. Rosenberg and directed by Michael Katleman.

Source: ABC via SpoilerTV

It seems Lie To Me was well received by viewers last night, as it premiered its pilot episode against Lost. It did not nearly beat the competition, though but based on Total Viewers, the new crime drama shows a bit of promise.

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THE GRAVE DIGGER RETURNS AND KIDNAPS BOOTH ON “BONES” THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, ON FOX
Brendan Fehr Guest-Stars

When Brennan, Hodgins and author Thomas Vega are summoned by a Federal Judge along with the United States Attorney regarding the ongoing investigation of the Grave Digger, they learn that evidence from the case has recently gone missing. With Brennan and Hodgins having been victims of the Grave Digger and Thomas Vegas currently writing a book about it, they become prime suspects in the missing evidence case. However, when Brennan and the team receive a phone call from the Grave Digger informing them that Booth has been buried alive with only 24 hours worth of oxygen, the Grave Digger threatens to leave him to die unless Brennan brings the missing evidence. The team immediately goes to Booth’s apartment to assess the crime scene, knowing from Sweets’ psychological assessment of the Grave Digger that they cannot tell the authorities about the situation or else the Grave Digger will retaliate against Booth. As Booth struggles to free himself from confinement, the team joins forces to locate him with precious time ticking away in the “Hero in the Hold” episode of BONES airing Thursday, Feb. 5 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (BON-408) (TV-14 L, V)

Cast: Emily Deschanel as Dr. Temperance Brennan; David Boreanaz as FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth; TJ Thyne as Dr. Jack Hodgins; Michaela Conlin as Angela Montenegro; Tamara Taylor as Dr. Camille “Cam” Saroyan; John Francis Daley as Dr. Lance Sweets
Guest Cast: Brendan Fehr as Jared Booth; Marisa Coughlan as Agent Payton Perotta; Deirdre Lovejoy as AUSA Heather Taffet; Noel Fisher as Teddy Parker; Richard Licata as Judge Williams; Marco Sanchez as Thomas Vega; Sarah Allan as Claire

Source: Fox via Spoiler TV

Airing: Feb 3, 2009

A YOUNG GIRL IS KIDNAPPED AND DETECTIVE ELLIOT STABLER (CHRISTOPHER MELONI) MUST WORK WITH EX-CONVICT, GENO PARNELL (GUEST STAR RON ELDARD), TO GET HER BACK.

When young girl Rosie Rinaldi (guest star Daisy Tahan) is kidnapped, the girl’s mother, Liz Ranaldi (guest star Michelle Ray Smith) immediately points Detectives Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) in the direction of her ex-husband, Geno Parnell (guest star Ron Eldard), a recently paroled convict. When Parnell’s alibi checks out, a fight erupts between Parker and Detectives Stabler and Odafin Tutola (Ice-T), which in turn unveils some knowledge on Parker’s ex-wife. Parker admits Liz’s father is Frank Hagar (guest star Dabney Coleman), a master thief with a lot of enemies. The detectives pay a visit to Hagar, but are surprised to find he has a severe case of Alzheimer’s disease. With the help of Dr. George Huang (B.D. Wong), the detectives are able to put together a few clues to solve the case, but must pair up again with Parker in order to find Rosie. Also starring: Richard Belzer (Detective John Much), Dann Florek (Captain Don! ald Cragen), Ice-T (Detective Odafin Tutuola), Michaela McManus (A.D.A Kim Greylek), Tamara Tunie (Dr. Melinda Warner), and B.D. Wong (Dr. George Huang).

Show Cast: Chris Meloni, Mariska Hargitay, Dann Florek, Richard Belzer, Ice T, Tamara Tunie, Michaela McManus

Source: NBC via Spoiler TV

A British crime series is coming to US TV via US public broadcasting station, PBS, thanks to a syndication deal with BBC Worldwide America. The series, now called MI:5 is a BAFTA award winning series and has been running in Britain for about seven seasons. The series stars Matthew Macfayden and Jenny Agutter.

Airing will begin this January until February.

I have actually seen a couple of episodes of this series and it is quite fast paced and gripping. I will look forward to watching more of this.

Full details are after the cut…

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It’s development season ladies and gentlemen and Fox has just ordered four comedy series and three dramas to pilot early today. Here’s a little background synopsis from the string of drama pilots the network is taking:

• “Maggie Hill,” from 20th and Imagine, is about a brilliant female surgeon who thrives despite enduring adult-onset schizophrenia. “Shark” creator Ian Biederman penned the script and is exec producing with David Nevins.
• “Human Target,” from WBTV, DC Comics and McG’s Wonderland, is based on the DC Comics title. It centers on Christopher Chance, a mysterious security-for-hire who assumes the identities of people in life-threatening danger, becoming the “human target” on behalf of his clients. Jon Steinberg penned the script and is exec producing with McG.
• The untitled reincarnation project, from WBTV, revolves around past-life investigators who use the concept of reincarnation to solve mysteries of their clients’ previous lives in order to resolve their problems in the present.

More details available via Hollywood Reporter.

Last Sunday night’s special airing of The Mentalist drew its biggest number to date. The episode earned 16.4 Million viewers, benefiting from its AFC Championship Game lead in.

From the Live Feed

With last night’s Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh game seen by about 40.6 million and had a 14.7 rating, the network was likely hoping for “The Mentalist” to gain a greater overall viewership bump. While falling short of a new record among total viewers, the adult demo rating edges out the freshman procedural hit’s previous high. “Mentalist” was down slightly compared with the “Without a Trace” episode that aired after 2007’s AFC nail-biter between Patriots and the Colts.

Chief competitor ABC aired “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (8.6 million, 2.9/7), a series-low 100th episode of “Desperate Housewives” (13 million, 4.6/10) and “Brothers & Sisters” (8.9 million, 2.8/7).

Where does the strength of this year’s biggest network hit lie? Does it have something to do with Simon Baker, lead star of The Mentalist, and his smile?

Speaking during the Winter TCA Press conference, here is what Bruno Heller, creator of the series, said — “I don’t want to quantify it too much because the magic might disappear.But it’s a combination of on the surface, a great, kind of Cary Grant-ish charm, but underlying it is real steel and menace. I was interested in seeing him smile.I think that’s one of those, kind of, simple values that’s again what people turn their TV on for:  They want to see people smile.  They want to see people be happy.  Let’s be happy.”

Cary Grant-ish charm it is.

Of all the people I know who are watching this show, Baker’s smile seem to have left a very vivid impression. When he smiles, his eyes speak too, which makes him such an effective actor for being able to communicate non-verbally.

The departure of one of TV’s well-loved characters in a crime series drew big numbers last Thursday. Some 24.25 million people watched as Grissom leaves his lab in Las Vegas, bids a polite farewell to Catherine, his partner at work, and rushes South America to be with the one he loves, Sara.

Did you watch that episode and did you love the way they put closure on Grissom’s character?

According to CBS, this episode drew the highest in any scripted show for this season.

William Petersen, who plays Grissom, has been replaced by Laurence Fishburne, who has been working in the lab with him for a while now. And he isn’t exactly a so-so actor.

Will Fishburne draw the numbers week after week, much like how Petersen and the original cast did for the last nine seasons?

Fox has decided to cancel Prison Break after four seasons, when some three years ago, the show was enjoying so much critical acclaim for how compelling the story was. These days though, viewership continues to drop and was down 22% from last year. Viewers are already tired of Scolfield and his crew running away from something. And Prison Break executive producer says via EW that the show cannot go anywhere else beyond this season.

The last six remaining episodes of Prison Break will begin airing when it returns on April 17 and producers have promised there will be deaths.

The full report from Fox’s TCA press tour after the cut…

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NBC has confirmed season renewals for some of their shows today but there was not mention of whether or not the crime series, Life, will return a third season.

In a recent interview in a British online site, Damian Lewis expressed being absolutely clueless about a possible third season return. The actor plays zen detective Charlie Crews.

• “We’re into the second season and that will finish in March,” said Damian, speaking at the Bafta LA tea party. “Then they’ll let us know the day before we start filming, whether they want us to start filming again. That seems to be the way they do it here, so I have absolutely no idea if there’ll be a third season.”
• “A lot did get the chop because they were heavily promoted and they had to achieve certain goals as a result of that,” said Damian. “We’ve been a big critical success and we’ve been able to toddle under the radar a bit.”

Here’s hoping that Life does gets picked up for another season. The show in itself is formulaic, as far as crime series go, but it also offers something different, particularly with the story arc that the character, Charlie Crews, is pursuing.

From Fox via SpoilerTV:

THE TEAM INVESTIGATES A CASE OF RAPE AND POTENTIAL ATHLETIC BRIBE ON “LIE TO ME” WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, ON FOX

When a female soldier charges a commanding officer with sexual assault, Lightman is brought to Fort Meade to find out if there’s any truth to the accusation. Meanwhile, the Lightman Group is hired to determine whether the young star of a college basketball team accepted a bribe to play for the university on the “Moral Waiver” episode of LIE TO ME airing Wednesday, Jan. 28 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (LTM-102) (TV-14 D, L)

Cast: Tim Roth as Dr. Cal Lightman, Kelli Williams as Gillian Foster, Monica Raymund as Ria Torres and Brendan Hines as Will Loker

Guest Cast: Alicia Lagano as Sheila Lake, Amy Rosoff as Private Metz, Bob dsoe as Hot Truck Guy, Bryan Fuller as Lester Lurie, Byrne Offutt as DHS Deputy, Charles Parnell as Major Harris, Christopher Saavedra as Latino Boy, David Anders as Sgt. Scott, Emerson Brooks as Lawyer, James Ryen as M.P., Lydia Castro as Platoon Mate #3, Mario Cortez as Army Polygrapher, Nicole Pettis as Platoon Mate #1, Pablo Espinosa as Sgt. Major Lester Lurie, Rachelle Leah as Ms. Cooper, Rance Howard as Joe Metz Rob Brownstein as Secretary Adam Miller, Roger Morrisseys as Mike Fish, Scott Alan Smiths as Jeremy Levine, Scott Atkinson as Howard Taft, Scott Hoxby as CEO Rosiello Sean Bunch as Lieutenant (aka Sergeant) Theodore Perkins as Earl White, Van Epperson as Polygrapher, Vince Corazza as Deputy Whitmore, Virginia Louise Smith as Platoon Mate #2