The Summer of Bosch

A few weeks ago, I wrote about watching the Amazon Prime TV series Bosch. Based on Michael Connelly’s novel series, there are now six seasons, 60 episodes of excellent television.

And I’ve gone through them all.

Now I’ve caught up with the rest of the folks who watched Bosch live as it aired. I’m not a binger. I still have the weekly airing of TV episodes ingrained in my DNA. But with streaming, I have modified my viewing. With about an hour a day for TV, my wife and I watch a show at 9pm every night. Thus, a 10-episode season of Bosch typically took about ten days, more or less.

Except the last couple of seasons.

Now, work nights, I still have only an hour for TV, but when the viewing bled into the weekends? Well, we might watch two or (shocker) three a night. I know that sounds funny to some of y’all, but I don’t like to blow through TV shows and have nothing left.

Early on this summer, we watched season 1 of Bosch then switched to another show. Prodigal Son. Happened again after season 2 (although I forgot the other show). Then the magic happened. After season 3 as we were discussing which show to watch next, the wife suggested Bosch season 4.

Done!

And we didn’t look back until we had finished the entire series to date.

I wrote earlier about the cast and they remain the best thing about the show. But as the series went on, I particularly liked the relationship between Bosch and his daughter who, by season six, is a college student finding her way through life. Titus Welliver and Madison Lintz have such good chemistry that you’d almost think they really are father and daughter.

The one thing I dislike about binging is the sudden void after you’ve reached the end. Tis why I like to watch shows slow. When we reached episode 60, there was a moment where we looked at each other and questioned if that was it? (We had purposefully avoided looking up anything on the internet because we didn’t want any spoilers. My wife spoiled herself when she was reading about the show and learned the fate of one of the major characters.)

Yes, there will be a season 7, but that’ll be it. Amazon has cancelled the show, but allowed it to end gracefully.

So it turned out that the Bosch TV show was our through line during the summer of 2020. I couldn’t be more satisfied.

 

BTW, our next show is Glitch (Netflix), an Australian show with an interesting premise: a few dead folks crawl out of their graves one night without any memories but in perfect health. 

Blood and Treasure: The Perfect Summer Show

I cannot think of a better way to spend a summer than watching the CBS series Blood and Treasure.

As I wrote back in May when I watched the first episode, this series had me from the promos. A show with two attractive leads on on globe-trotting action/adventure expedition, hunting for Egyptian artifacts, complete with secret organizations and near-death escapes? This is exactly what I want in a show.

And Blood and Treasure delivered. Every single episode, culminating in Tuesday's season finale. If you thought you knew where things were headed, chances are good you were wrong.

The Leads' Chemistry 

Anchored by the two leads--Matt Barr playing Danny McNamara, a former FBI agent with a deep knowledge of art, and Sofia Pernas, playing Lexi Vaziri, a master thief who has her own personal reasons to join the chase--the cast of Blood and Treasure add up to more than the sum of its parts. Barr and Pernas are part of the long tradition of characters who love/hate relationship depending on the circumstances, but must work together to achieve their goals. I'm thinking Castle and Beckett, Moonlighting, the Brendan Frasier Mummy series, the National Treasure movies, and so many more.

As a writer, I appreciated how the Blood and Treasure writers allowed Danny and Lexi to grow and learn from each other, taking from the other aspects the individual doesn't have. It culminated in a wonderful scene in the finale in which each of them is faced with a challenge and they do what the other would naturally do. Loved it. Brought a huge grin on my face, especially when Danny crashed through an overhead window, dropping into a room holding onto a fire hose, and taking out the bad guys. Like I wrote on Twitter, I've been waiting all summer for that.

I also appreciated how the writing team met and overcame the obvious will-they-or-won't-they problem. From episode one, you know they will get together. It's just a matter of time. Harder still is the flip side of the equation: when the inevitable rift forms, will it be something artificial or organic from inside the show. One of my favorite recent shows was Castle, and by season eight, those writers created such a ham-fisted means to separate the two leads that I great to dislike it. I'm happy to report with Blood and Treasure, the fissures are organic. Danny and Lexi do get together, but then they separate in a way completely believable. That they end up together is, well, natural.

Barr and Pernas make a great team, but they are nothing without their co-stars.

The Rest of the Cast

In a show in which one of our leads--Danny--is a law-and-order man who occasionally steps over the line, you need another law-and-order type to remind him of the road he almost always takes. Enter Gwen Karlsson (Katia Winter). She's a straight arrow agent (most of the time) who ends up on Team Danny/Lexi by the end of the series. And she gets a wonderful, kick-ass scene toward the end of the series where she fights hand-to-hand against a masked intruder. I enjoyed her character arc because she also sees the validity of stepping over the line.

Throughout the series, Danny and Lexi always bump into old friends and enemies, but I really appreciated one of Danny's friends being a priest. Mark Gagliardi plays Father Chuck, an old friend from Boston who now lives in Italy. When he first showed up, I thought of course Danny's friends with a priest. More subtext about rules and law and order. But Gagliardi plays Chuck as a man of the world, willing to bend the rules to help a larger calling.

And then there is Shaw. Ironically, the character of Shaw is played by Michael James Shaw. I can't help but wonder if the creators had a different name for the character before and changed it because of Shaw's presence on the set. Either way, the actor Shaw brought so much fun and life to the character Shaw that he became my favorite co-star. Big, brawny, but with enough heart and humor, Shaw falls into the typical role of trusted sidekick but he brings it all with a wink and a smile. I especially enjoyed the first half of the season when he wasn't necessarily working with our heroes, but kept bumping into them. Later, when he joined the team, he became a crucial component.

These five actors and characters, and specifically their chemistry, are what elevated Blood and Treasure into a truly entertaining summer show.

The Story

I'll admit I cannot relate every single detail of the plot. The thirteen-episode, thirteen week series had a lot of twists, turns, and revelations to it that propelled the plot and sent Danny and Lexi all over the globe. So I never minded the occasional reset/exposition scenes scattered throughout the series. It helped me remember crucial details that, in real time, happened weeks ago for me.

But I loved the Egyptian archeology plot. To be honest, that's what sold me on the show from the trailers. Sure, the show looked fun, but having Antony and Cleopatra being the McGuffins was so fun to play with.

The Structure of the Episodes

And I really enjoyed how the backstories of the various plot threads were interwoven. The interludes over a map with the years zooming in and out of the present was like a literal map for the story. It gave off a Indiana Jones vibe that I know creators Matthew Federman and Stephen Scaia did on purpose. And don't get me started on all the in-jokes scattered throughout the episodes. I especially enjoyed the musical homage to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when  Danny and Lexi visited Venice. It must have been so much fun to write this show, determine what references to include but not be ham-fisted about it. To be a writer in that writer's room must have been a blast.

The Big Twist at the End

With a sub-title like that, you know I'm going to reveal the ending. But, I'm also assuming if you've read this far, you already watched the finale. Fair warning.

The big reveal of Simon Hardwick (James Callis) Jay Reece's (John Larroquette) real son--and the real enemy--I didn't see coming. But it made perfect sense. But do you know what else it made me want to do? Rewatch the entire series. Just like when you get to the end of The Sixth Sense and you know the truth, you can watch it again and see how M. Night Shyamalan structured the film. The clues were there all along. I want to re-watch Blood and Treasure to do the same thing with an eye to Hardwick. Was it there all along? I'm hopeful there's going to be a DVD of this show so I can re-watch. Then again, it's probably already on CBS All Access. With Star Trek: Picard already the thing that'll make me subscribe to the service, might as well start early and enjoy this show again.

In Praise of the Network Schedule

In an era of binge watching our favorite TV shows mere hours after they are made available, I very much enjoyed the weekly format of Blood and Treasure. Granted, I rarely binge anything, even when a show is available to do so. I much prefer weekly episodic television. It gives me time to think about the show throughout the week, and then build excitement to air time.

Specifically for Blood and Treasure, however, watching it carried me through the entire summer. It started in May, after the main shows had aired their season finales, and took me all the way to a week before school starts. Every Tuesday, I would get my glass of wine and be treated to a wonderful show. I was able to talk about it to folks and, in one of my favorite things to do, follow the live tweets from Stephen Scaia. I loved the communal nature of watching a show at a given time where all viewers are doing it at the same time. And Scaia's tweets always gave glimpses into the production, including that musical cue I referenced above. It's the behind-the-scenes aspect of the show that I'm interested in that I'm hopeful we'll get a DVD set.

The Verdict

Blood and Treasure is one of a triumvirate of shows that carried me through the summer of 2019. The other two--Elementary and American Ninja Warrior--were known quantities. The promos for Blood and Treasure were what got me excited for the show. All the ingredients of the show--the creators, the writers, the actors, the settings, the globe-spanning and historical plot--mixed together and produced something greater than the sum of its parts. This show is all you could want in a summer show and more. It's entertaining, thrilling, funny, and romantic. I cannot wait until the summer of 2020 when Blood and Treasure will debut its second season and entertain us again.

American Ninja Warrior: Your Weekly Dose of Exciting Positivity

If you want to kick off your week with some fist-pumping joy complete with inspirational backstories, there is no better place than American Ninja Warrior on NBC.

My Path to ANW

I'll admit something here that'll give a bit of insight into why I enjoy this show so much: back in the day, I dug American Gladiator. In that old show, amateur athletes would compete against professional ones on the obstacle course.

But ANW is actually a better show, for one reason: each individual amateur ninja who competes is competing against himself or herself. Yes, it's a competition show in which the top finishers move on and a winner is crowned, but fundamentally, it's about one person against a series of obstacles. Will he or won't he? Can she do it or can't she? And that's what separates this show apart from most every reality/competition show I know. It's now appointment television for me. Heck, I've even got my wife watching it with me.

Camaraderie Among the Contestants

We are now in season 11. Over the years, certain competitors have returned year after year, gaining a following and their own fan base. But here's the irony: I only know the names of a few of them. The rest I can recognize, but I'm always searching for their names.

Drew Dreschel is one I know by name and sight. Dude makes it look so easy. On Monday's city finals in Atlanta, he finished the course in a little over three minutes. Some folks don't get halfway in three minutes. There's Jesse Graff, a stunt woman who has worked on the Wonder Woman movie and who used to wear super-hero themed outfits during her runs. A few weeks ago, a forty-two year old mom, Sandy Zimmerman, became the first mother to complete an ANW course. And Daniel Gil, a local guy, who always does well.

The major contestants travel to the various cities and cheer on their friends and newcomers.

And therein lies the magic of this show.

The Cheering Makes You Smile

You'll never hear a 'boo' in this show. You'll never see one competitor who has finished with a certain time root against another contestant to lose. Even the hosts--Matt Iseman and the every excitable Akbar Gbaja-Biamila*--cheer on the contestants. There are chants of "Beat that wall!" as the athletes face either a 15-foot or an 18-foot wall. Often a competitor's family and friends will don special t-shirts featuring the competitor's tagline or nickname.

And yes, there are the feel-good backstory vignettes that talk about a sick parent or ill wife or a child who needs a kidney. That's what I love about this show. It makes you feel good. It gets your blood pumping when they overcome an obstacle or wince if they face-plant into a pad.

Because for most of these athletes, just getting to the starting line is the victory. Whatever they do on the course is gravy. You get to see triumph on their faces no matter the outcome.

There's a spirit about this show that I look forward to every week and every summer. It is the perfect way to spend a couple hours ever week of the summer filling your bucket with rays of hope and excitement.

And boy do I want to give it a try!

*Gbaja-Biamila has written a inspirational book and I've already started reading. Here's the Amazon link.

Year of an Indie Writer: Week 21

Boy are there a ton of anniversaries this week.

Thursday alone saw the 24th anniversary of Chicago's Night and Day album, the 35th anniversary of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and the 40th anniversary of KISS's Dynasty album. I reviewed the KISS album, but wanted to re-watch Temple of Doom before I review it. That post will be coming next week.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade's 30th anniversary was yesterday. Same thing: want to re-watch it and review it. This movie kicks of the Summer of 1989 at 30 series that'll run throughout the summer as I re-watch and revisit the incredible films of 1989.

Today is forty years since Alien was released.

Lots of fun to experience these things again and, in some cases, share them with the family for the first time.

Podcast of the Week

Same one: Blockbuster. The last of the six episodes dropped on Tuesday and it is incredible. I updated the review I wrote when I first heard twice, once to include Episode 5 and again for Episode 6. It is one of my favorite things of 2019. I listened to the last episode on Tuesday morning on the way to work and prompted donated money when I got there. Give it a listen and see what you think.

Later, when I tweeted how much I loved it, the folks a Blockbuster picked it up and included none other than Mark Hamill. That moment of thrill I experienced when I thought Hamill might actually read something I wrote was fantastic. He liked my separate tweet about it.

Made my day.

TV Show of the Week

Elementary returned for its last 13-episode season. I have loved this show from day one. If we can agree that Jeremy Brett is the epitome of the traditional Sherlock Holmes, then Johnny Lee Miller's Holmes is my favorite non-traditional version. He has been allowed to have Sherlock grow over these past seven years. That's made all the difference. I will sincerely miss this show when it goes for its final bow. (see what I did there?)

The Summer Writing Session Starts

Monday marks the opening of Summer 2019. Labor Day is 97 days later. This is perhaps my favorite writing time because of the clear bookends.

What are you going to write this summer?

I have to finish the proofing and editing for the fourth Calvin Carter story, Brides of Death, but I aim to try something new. Something different. I don't know what it is yet, but I intend to have fun writing.

Memorial Day

Lest we forget, here in the United States, Monday is Memorial Day, and it is dedicated to all the soldiers over our history who have given their last full measure of devotion to our country. They will forever have our gratitude.

Blood and Treasure: Premiere

I saw the promos for this show last week and knew I'd enjoy it. I caught the first of two parts last night and this show looks exactly like what it is: a breezy, action/adventure show perfect for the summer.

Premise

I'll admit, the historian in me cringed at what happens in the opening segment.

After an opening narration giving a little history with a map of the Mediterranean Sea region for reference, we cut to 2019 and an American archaeologist and her team find the lost tomb of Marc Antony and Cleopatra. Except the crypt only has his body. Where is Cleopatra?

They have little time to think about it before mercenaries storm the pyramid, capture the archaeologist, and then blow up part of the pyramid! Even though it was fiction, the idea of all that lost history gone gnawed at my gut.

Enter the Two Attractive Leads

The first of the two leads is Danny McNamara (Matt Barr), a former FBI agent who knows art. Again, the historian in me can't not think of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, and that's probably on purpose. He's hired by rich guy John Larroquette to find the missing archaeologist. Money is no object. But he needs one thing: a partner.

Naturally, the best person for the job is Lexi Vaziri, an attractive cat burglar, played by Sofia Pernas, who just happens to be his former girlfriend. She's just pulled a heist, gotten herself arrested, and is in jail.

But not for long. Danny shows up and they team up.

Flashbacks Give Backstory

Through a series of flashbacks, the characters and situations are fleshed out, including why Danny and Lexi broke up. Hint: it's not good and it's not romantic.

The dynamic is as old as storytelling. One of the pair is the brains and the other is the brawn. In this case, Lexi's the brawn. Yeah, in the age of Lara Croft, this also isn't old. Neither is the guy-as-nerd character type either (Jack Ryan?). But as I told my wife after the first commercial break: there is a wheelhouse of things I enjoy--especially in the summer--and this show checked off every box.

Action: check
Exotic locales: check
Attractive leads: check
Mysterious enemies: check
Backstory that will be revealed as time goes on: check
Knowing the leads will get  together: check

There's a certain mentality that descends on me in the summer. I want a particular kind of show, movie, and music. Blood and Treasure fits that bill perfectly.

Stranger Things, Part 1

My nostalgia typically runs through the 1970s. That was my first decade of life (born in 1968). It included KISS, Star Wars, comics, Legos, elementary school, Saturday morning cartoons, and many more discoveries. The 1980s was the decade I came of age: Middle school, high school, music, girls, movies, graduation in 1987. Not sure why, but I tend to overlook the 1980s in my trips down nostalgia lane. Not that I didn’t have a great time in that decade. I did. I had a pretty great time during those years. But I rarely return to them.

So it came as an interesting curiosity when I saw the trailer to Stranger Things, the 8-episode TV series from Netflix. Perhaps I had been away from the 80s for so long, mentally, that everything in this trailer piqued my interest. To be honest, I got pretty darn excited about seeing the show. The trailer itself seemed to check off just about every 80s visual reference you could imagine. Camera moving across backyard a la ET? Check. Flashlight emerging from elevator, also reminiscent of ET? Check. Boys on bikes? Check. Boys finding an “ET” and bringing her home? Check. Wait a second. Are all these images from ET? No, but Stranger Things is a love letter to Steven Spielberg’s films and Stephen King’s books. It's even got "Stephen King" font on the title card! Oh, and John Carpenter’s film scores.

I’m up through Episode 5 of the show, and boy am I digging this series. The creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, lather on so much 80s goodness in just about every shot and line of script that it’ll make you wonder if Netflix didn’t just discover some long-lost TV show from 1983. Heck, if you were to play a drinking game where you verbally identify a shot or a line of dialogue from an 80s movie, you’d be smashed halfway through the first episode. But all of this 80s love is not played ironically. This is real, genuine love of the era and its movies.

The basic plot is revealed in the trailer. Will, one of a quartet of young nerdlings, disappears after he rides home at night after a terrific game of Dungeons and Dragons. Winona Ryder is his single mom who was working. His older brother, Jonathan, is a loner who likes to take pictures with his camera and worked an extra shift the previous night. Quickly they realize Will is missing and things get started.

The leader of the young nerds, Mike, convinces his pals that they can find Will whereas the cops and adults cannot. In their nighttime hunt, they discover a girl. She won’t say anything. Her shaved head makes her look odd as does the tattoo of “011” on her forearm. They take her back to Mike’s house and hide her in the basement. Quickly, they figure out she has some special powers. She also knows where Will is: “Hiding.”

Meanwhile, Mike’s sister, Nancy, is infatuated with a boy, Steve, sort of a bad boy. He’s slept around but she’s a bookworm. Her friend, Barb, warns Nancy that Steve’s no good, but Nancy only has googly eyes for the handsome lad. Barb and Nancy go to a party at Steve’s house while his parents are away. Nancy makes some questionable choices and Barb bides her time outside on the diving board. Until something snatches her.

Sheriff Jim Hopper is a divorcee who self medicates. In typical fashion in a show like this, initially he’s reluctant to listen to the wailings of Will’s mom, chalking up her words to a frantic mother. But soon, however, he changes his mind.

Needless to say, all of these plot threads start to converge around episode 4. And I’ll freely admit that I’m in the dark on where this show is going. I’ve got a general idea, but I’m willing to just let the show take me where it will.

Oh, and Matthew Modine is now playing the Peter Coyote role. Bonus points if you get the reference.

I’m enjoying the heck out of this show. Ryder is great as the crazy-with-worry mother. I remember thinking during the first episode “How old must I be if Winona Ryder is playing the mom?” Old enough. All the cast are doing great. The youngsters are straight out of a Goonies casting call, but I’m fine with that. Absolutely love the music! Pure early 80s synth moody soundtrack.

I’m definitely looking forward to finishing this series. It’s a television highlight of the summer.