Jumping Right In
I’m going to bypass the usual and dive into the meat of this blog. Crime Drama TV. As many of today’s top rated shows are crime dramas, their is no doubt that crime drama is what people enjoy! Perhaps it is the insiders look into detective work. Maybe it is seeing how killers behave. Possibly, the attraction is the courtroom side of life. Whatever draws us to crime drama, there are more shows than ever before.
Today, I want to talk about what I like and what you will see at this website. I try to watch as many shows as possible. Monk, CSI (the original), Cold Case, Without A Trace, all of the Law & Orders, Close To Home, and NCIS are favorites that I try to watch or record every week. I’m also open to watching new shows and Stand Off and Verdict are two of my preferred shows this season, though their fate has yet to be determined.
To briefly sum up my favored shows:
Monk is one of those shows that is truly fascinating, but never gained the appeal it deserved. Thankfully USA picked it up after I believe it was NBC gave up on it. (Note to television studios: instead of canceling a show outright, will you PLEASE try these shows in dead or slower time slots first? Placing a brand new show against a popular show like Lost or CSI is a silly idea to start with.) Anyway, Monk is a slightly neurotic, definitely obsessive complusive man whose deduction skills and strange habits always break the case.
CSI is set in Las Vegas. You have a team of crime scene investigators working on brutal crimes. There are the two other shows–Miami and New York City–but I don’t watch them as often.
Cold Case is a branch of the Philadelphia PD that works solely on solving cases that have been pushed aside or forgotten because the leads ran dry.
Without A Trace is also set in New York. Here a team of agents work to solve missing person cases.
Law & Order has three shows. The original solves basically any crime. The show focuses equally on detective work and the court aspect. The first half hour focuses on the crime, the second half hour turns to the court trial.
Law & Order SVU (Special Victims’ Unit) deals with sex crimes.
Law & Order CI (Criminal Intent) covers any crime, but focus on the psychological aspect (killer’s mind) is key.
Close To Home is a courtroom drama that starts with a crime and then jumps into charging and trying the suspect.
NCIS is the spin-off of JAG. Here the team of investigators work for the Navy. Solving crimes is their key.
Verdict is a new show and it starts with a crime. The key players in this show are a team of defense lawyers who must prove their client is innocent. The show ends with a playback of what really happened.
Stand Off is based on hostage negotiators who have to go in and save hostages by dealing with the captor.
I grew up watching Barney Miller, Moonlighting, Hill Street Blues, and Quincy. So from my youth, crime drama intrigued me. My own personal enjoyment comes from watching detectives sift through clues and crack the case. I’m a puzzle girl, always have been. Logic problems are a fun way to spend a few spare minutes. That is why detective shows are so fascinating. In my mind, detective work is like solving a logic problem. You have the clues, but you have to figure out how they eliminate each other, how they go together, or if they are dead ends leading you to nowhere.
Every day, you will find me discussing the previous nights shows, including spoilers. So if you fall asleep and miss a show, I may be able to help you out. Providing I watched or taped that show.
Please feel free to drop me a line and state your favorite shows. Sometimes other recommendations can get me hooked on a new show that I otherwise would miss!
See ya tomorrow!
October 13th, 2006 at 7:14 am
I’m a big fan of Monk and CSI(I like Vagas and Miami). Some ogf the other shows are a bit too much of a good thing to me. I used to love Law and Order, but the attraction has faded for me.
The new shows I’m pretty big on right now are Shark (with James Woods) and Psych, which is part of USA’s Monk/Psych schedule.
October 13th, 2006 at 7:21 am
CSI Miami is the one spin-off that I don’t mind watching. It’s odd because my husband prefers New York. I guess I have a hard time seeing Melina K. as a detective. I know her from soaps when I was a teen and then Providence. Gary Sinise I do like, but I just can’t find myself enjoying his character.
Miami - though I think David Caruso is a bit of a jerk in real life, his character’s introduction years ago on the original CSI where he found the missing girl warmed me to his character immediately.
I’m still happier watching Grissom though.
Psych, I tried to watch the premiere of it and never got into it. It may have gotten better as the actors settled into the roles, but the premiere for me had no spark.
Shark I’ve tried to watch but it’s on here at 10pm. I really need to record it because from what I’ve seen James Woods nails his role. Unfortunately, shows at 10pm EST conflict with my having to get up at 5am to get showered, get the kids up, fed, and ready for the bus by 7am.
October 13th, 2006 at 9:26 am
I can’t get into CSI:NY either, and I really tried. I love Gary Sinise, but this one never clicked with me. Caruso and Proctor are what really does it for me with the Miami edition. Grissom is still the king though.
Psych just cracks me up. I love the interplay between Dule Hill and James Roday. They really click well together. It may just be a personal preference kinda thing.
Jimmy Woods is awesome. His cast is a little week in some areas, but they are improving with each episode. Hopefully they can maintain.
I hear you on the scheduling. I have to in to work by 6 and I have my children in the afternoons right after work/school, so it is rare when I can actually watch a show when it actually airs. DVR. I love me some DVR.
October 13th, 2006 at 9:51 am
I don’t have a DVR. I have this issue with the $5 a month charge. That gets me. But, for Father’s Day Kmart had a DVD recorder on sale for $89. We’d needed a new DVD player anyway, so I spent the extra and now find myself recording constantly. Plus that means I can store away these disks and then watch them again years from now when they cancel the shows for whatever reality show has taken the majority by storm.
I’m not a big reality fan myself… I’m still curious why they moved Cold Case to 9pm so that that silly Amazing Race could hog the time slot. During football season, games always delay schedules here. So Cold Case ends up not starting til almost 10 and there is no way I can make it through that late, so that’s another show I’ll have to record now.
October 14th, 2006 at 12:30 pm
Tacy,
You know you can get a DVR for your computer called Beyond TV that’s a one time fee.
Aaron.
http://www.eTVreviewer.com
October 14th, 2006 at 6:01 pm
I work on my computer all day, the last thing I want to do at night is watch the smaller computer screen over my bigger TV screen. For those that like watching TV on their computer, it’s great. For me, it’s nothing I’d ever use.