#homicide detective (and others) showing up at a crime scene only to find a teenager

[normaltothemax]

@detectivewoof bc reasons

Why was it always him?

Scratch that. Stiles knew why it was always him: he actively sought out situations like this. Situations that found him standing over a very dead body (which, gross, and he'd been trying not to get woozy while inspecting it) with a baseball bat in his hands when the cops showed up. Cops that just so happened to work in a town where he dad was very much not the Sherriff and who, therefore, didn't know that this was just the sort of shit he got up to on the regular.

Eyes wide, his hands were quick to fly up, just about braining himself with the bat before he had the good sense to drop it. It may have hit the body before clattering to the forest floor. Oops. If the cops took a closer look at things, it'd probably be pretty obvious he wasn't the killer, but at the moment, he was more concerned about the guns than he was with pointing that out. "Uh...this isn't what it looks like?"

[cdt12345]

I just finished answering one of these and now I wanna know yours. Top 10 straight OTPs?

1.) Ben and Leslie - Parks and Recreation

If this was my OTPs list, they’d be second after Gallavich, but since this is straight couples, they have to be my number one. Amy Poehler and Adam Scott had great chemistry. Adam Scott played a lot of creepy/bad guys before this. So, when he showed up in Pawnee, I didn’t know what to make of him when he came in at the end of season 2. Pretty quickly I realized I was not only going to love the character of Ben Wyatt but we finally found Leslie Knope’s perfect match! I’ll never forget the moment I knew I was going to ship them. It was at the Freddy Spaghetti concert when Ben helped Leslie after he was against doing the concert in the first place. As soon as I saw Ben give Leslie that look as she walked away, I knew I was all in with this ship. That’s all it took! Leslie finally met someone who got her, admired her, was in awe of her, and was so supportive of her and her ambitions. They were both willing to put their jobs at risk by making their relationship known. And if you know Leslie Knope, her job is her life. Leslie’s love for Ben’s butt is also something I loved. Their love for each other is so beautiful and one of my favorite things about this amazing show.

2.) Ava and Boyd - Justified

Joelle Carter and Walton Goggins did amazing work together onscreen. Ava and Boyd Crowder did not have the most conventional start to their romantic relationship, seeing as Ava was married to Boyd’s brother. For me, that is a deal-breaker! I know they’re not blood relatives but it’s still weird to me when in-laws get together. In the pilot, we learn Ava has just killed her husband in self-defense and Boyd was supposed to be killed off in that episode. The powers that be, loved both Joelle and Walton so much they brought them back for more and they were series regulars for the rest of the series run. To keep Ava part of the storyline, they had Boyd staying at Ava’s house in season 2. It all evolved from there. I had no intention of shipping these two during season 1, but by season 2, I was all about Ava and Boyd getting together. They were the true definition of a power couple. They even had matching bullet scares on their chest! They stood side by side as a strong force against anyone who tried to overpower them or intimidate them in their growing criminal enterprise. Boyd really saw Ava, treated her with respect, and saw her as his equal. They had a long history, even went to the same high school together. I always love a couple who has known each other since they were kids. I never thought I would root for current or former in-laws, but it was hard not to fall in love with them.

3.) Jess and Nick - New Girl

I knew I was going to ship them from the very first episode. They are everything I love in a good ship, complete opposites who bring out the best in each other, who are also friends. Over the years, any time Jess would describe her perfect man, she was always describing Nick without realizing it. Once she was asked what her dream guy would be, and she said Walter Matthau in Grumpy Old Men and Nick fits that perfectly. He really is like a grumpy old man. There was nothing these two wouldn’t do for each other. One example of this was when Jess burns her finger on a cigarette lighter in the car and Nick puts his finger in the cigarette lighter so they would be in the same amount of pain. Who even does that?! I was so happy when they finally had their first kiss and when they officially got together. Those are some of my favorite episodes when they were finally dating. Any time they dated anyone else it became even more clear how much better they are together. They never fit with anyone else as well as they fit together. They really were perfect for each other.

4.) Corey and Topanga - Boy Meets World

Corey and Topanga are the OG’s of childhood sweethearts on TV. They’ve known each other their whole lives and were very believable in their genuine love for each other. It’s not always easy to believe that people who get married that young can make it work, but these two always seemed to defy those odds. They got married during their sophomore year of college. Today I would be like whoa that’s too soon to get married! But they felt so right together, I believe I would still think they made the right choice. I may be biased because I grew up watching this show and I was even younger than them at that time, but it always felt like they were meant to be. I still remember what a big deal their wedding was. My friends and I were so excited about that episode. They clearly did do the right thing because the show came back as Girl Meets World, which was more focused on their daughter than them, so of course, I wasn’t planning on watching all that. The only good thing to come out of that reboot, for me, was to get confirmation that Corey and Topanga were still together and had two kids. 

5.) Arnold and Helga - Hey Arnold!

This was a very one-sided crush on Helga’s part for years! This was another show I grew up on. I shipped them so hard because Helga was obsessively in love with Arnold. It definitely wasn’t a healthy obsession, but she really loved him. It was hard not to root for her. She fell in love with him when he was the first to notice her and be nice to her on their first day of preschool. A part of me could identify with her at that time in my life. I was in 5th grade and was experiencing my first love too. She was always so mean to Arnold because she was terrified for anyone to even suspect she had a major crush on him. The best way to describe Arnold is through Helga’s own words, he’s “a funny little football-headed kid with a good heart but no sense of reality”. Helga was realistic and tough but very poetic and sweet in private. In 2017, when Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie came out, I was really hoping she would finally come clean with Arnold about her feelings. It FINALLY happened! That was 21 years in the making. Talk about slow burn!

6.) Tiffani and Jake - California Dreams

Jake and Tiffani are one of my very first ships ever. They were high school students who were in a band called California Dreams together. They were like night and day. She was the surfer type, who was positive, sunny, and friendly. Whereas Jake was a biker type who scared everyone. They were even too scared to let him audition for the band. He played guitar and would sometimes sing and write some of their songs. He wasn’t the main singer of the band, but he would sing every once in a while. She played the bass and would sometimes sing too. They did have a breakup that was heartbreaking for me. He dated their friend Lorena for a short time, and it felt so forced and didn’t work at all. Again, I could be biased because I love Jake and Tiffani, but Jake himself and Lorena realized they didn’t work either. That’s when Jake realized he was still very much in love with Tiffani, and they got back together. This show also had the best theme song ever! I sing it every single time I hear it and when I do hear it, it’s stuck in my head all day.

7.) Monica and Chandler - Friends

I always preferred Monica and Chandler over Ross and Rachel. They were never on and off like Ross and Rachel, which would get tiresome. We never had to deal with that with Monica and Chandler. Obviously, they are friends and know each other so well that it was easy for them to get through anything because of it.

8.) Castle and Beckett - Castle

Richard Castle and Kate Beckett had amazing chemistry, even after the actors themselves were no longer getting along behind the scenes. I am amazed at how they were still able to be so believable at being very much in love with each other. Castle, a best-selling mystery novelist, and Beckett, a New York City homicide detective. Castle is inspired by Beckett and she becomes his muse for a new book he is writing. Castle uses his connections with the mayor to force the police to let him shadow Beckett. Their personalities clash in the beginning but they soon find their groove and become friends and great partners at solving crimes. The will they, won’t they was excruciating at times but paid off when they finally got together.

9.) Sabrina and Harvey - Sabrina The Teenage Witch

Sabrina and Harvey were such a cute couple. I already went into this show knowing they were meant to be because of the Sabrina comic books. Harvey was always the boyfriend. So, when Harvey left the show after season 4, I was surprised and saddened. Especially, since Harvey had finally learned about her powers. He did guest star in season 5 but was brought back for the last two seasons. I really loved when he came back because Sabrina and Harvey’s relationship was so much better after he knew about her powers. They didn’t get back together and were only friends but whenever things got complicated, he was there to help her now that he knew she was a witch. She didn’t have to hide who she really was or lie to him anymore and I really loved how that changed their relationship. Sabrina was dating someone else at this time and was going to marry this other guy, but she doesn’t go through with it. For once I can actually say Sabrina and Harvey are soulmates and really mean it! Remember she is a witch and has a soul stone and Harvey was given one too. Harvey is waiting for Sabrina outside the church when she comes out and they kiss. Their soul stones drop to the ground and fit perfectly at 12:36pm, the exact time they first met seven years ago.Then they drive off together in his motorcycle.

10.) Kelly and Zack - Saved by The Bell

Who didn’t grow up in the 90′s and wasn’t shipping Zack and Kelly? I thought they were the most gorgeous couple I had ever seen. Saved by The Bell: The College Years wasn’t a great show, but I was happy to see Zack and Kelly went to the same college, and eventually, we got to see them get married in a TV movie with Saved by The Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas.

[brokcnbutunbowcd]

she laughs like god (her mind's like a diamond)

Alright, so here’s the first part of the Meda Wayne story I was talking about writing! I had so much fun with this, and I really want to know what you all think so please do let me know, and feel free to reblog this if you like it! Just some notes about this story:

1. For the purposes of this story, I've aged James Gordon, Jr. from an infant to about eight years old. I have a very firm timeline for this story, and this is something that just made it work better.

2. In this story, Barbara Gordon is James Gordon's biological daughter.

3. I got the math wrong, so I'm just pretending that Anastasia came out in 1998 because I really like that theme for this story. Meda was born in 1993, which would've made her five in 1998.

4. Right now, the story contains elements from Batman: Year One, as well as Catwoman: Her Sister's Keeper and Batman Annual 13: Waiting in the Wings, if you want to read along.

I also cross-posted this to AO3, which I’ll link at the bottom if you want to check it out there!

It was a chilly December day before the night that Meda Wayne’s life was set on the course that would define it. Only, she wasn’t Meda Wayne back then, you see, Gotham’s beloved daughter and heiress to the Wayne family fortune. No, she was just a little girl named Meda Carter, and although she knew she didn’t have very much, she was happy. Her mother and father were the kindest, best people in the world in her eyes, and even though they lived in a small apartment in the Narrows, (which even at five, Meda could understand meant a not-very-nice part of Gotham) she knew herself to be very lucky.

On the particular morning our story starts, Meda was sitting on the couch in what could charitably be called her living room, bouncing up and down in anticipation. It was the first day of Christmas break, and her father had brought in enough money from his odd jobs around the city to take the little family out to the movies. The little girl had been wanting to see this particular film for weeks now, and she couldn’t believe she had to wait all day before they could leave. Her mother had suggested she distract herself by turning on the television, and so there Meda was, flipping through the channels when she stopped on something curious.

She recognized one of the news programs from the blue ribbon wrapped around the bottom of the screen, but instead of the usual flashing lights and crime scene tape that she’d come to associate with the news, the camera was focused on a man, walking through what appeared to be an airport. He was young and handsome, with dark hair and striking blue eyes. He was surrounded by reporters and cameramen, and a curious Meda turned up the volume on the television to hear what the reporter was saying about him.

“The twenty-five year old heir to the Wayne billions declined to comment on the rumors of romance in his life, or on his plans on his return to Gotham after twelve years abroad,” a woman with a short brown bob was saying.

“Who’s that, mommy?” Meda asked as her mother entered the room from the bedroom.

Eliza Carter glanced at the TV and blinked in surprise. “That’s Bruce Wayne.” She took a seat next to her daughter on the couch and stared at the screen intently. “Wonder what brought him back to town.”

“Probably got bored of running through his trust fund in Europe,” James Carter said as he came into the room. He leaned down to give his wife a kiss on the cheek and his daughter one on the forehead. “Morning, girls.”

“What’s a trust fund?” Meda asked curiously.

“It’s a big bank account that rich people have,” her father explained, lifting her up and settling her on his lap. “You know the big tower in the middle of the city?” Meda nodded, “That’s his family’s company. He owns it. And he lives in a big house on the outskirts of Gotham City that our apartment could fit in over a hundred times.”

“No way!” Meda exclaimed.

“Way!” Her father confirmed, then sighed. “And it all belongs to that one lucky S.O.B.”

“What’s an S.O.B?” Meda asked, confused.

“James,” her mother chided, with a glance in her daughter’s direction. “Be nice.You know what the poor man’s been through.”

“Bad things happen to people every day in this town,” her father countered. “The rest of us don’t have a mansion and a billion-dollar fortune to fall back on.”

“What bad thing happened to him?” Meda asked, pointing at the screen.

“Don’t you go giving a thought to people like Bruce Wayne, sweetheart,” her father said dismissively. “Lord knows he doesn’t give a thought to people like us.”

______________________________________________________________________________

Meda Carter had no way of knowing, but this day was significant for more than just Bruce Wayne’s return to town. It also marked the arrival of one Lieutenant James Gordon to Gotham City. He was met with far less fanfare than Bruce Wayne was, taking the train into the city and being joined by only one detective, Flass, before his meeting with Commissioner Loeb.

He’d had a bad feeling about the department from the moment he met Flass, and now he knew his first judgement to have been the correct one. After watching the detective brutalize a teenager for no reason other than standing in his line of sight, Jim knew this shouldn’t be the place he was raising his family. Still, he reminded himself that this was his best shot. After what had happened in Chicago, he needed it. His family needed it. And if all this fresh start required of him was that he keep his mouth shut, then he could do that.

He hoped.

He was called out to his first crime scene that night. Double homicide, the Narrows. Typrical, according to Flass as they drove their way to the scene.

Getting out of the car nearly before the car had even stopped, Jim approached the responding officer and asked, “What’ve we got?”

The officer looked young, and a little green. The violence that was so prevalent in Gotham must not have jaded him yet. Jim felt sorry for the poor kid. “We’ve got a double, sir, husband and wife shot in what we think was a botched robbery. James and Eliza Carter, both twenty-four. Husband worked as a handy-man around the city, wife was a store clerk.”

“Who called 9-1-1?”

“The neighbor, sir. She’s a hooker, was with a john when it happened. Didn’t see the guy before or after. She called the police when she heard the witness screaming.”

“Witness?” Jim was surprised. That hadn’t come through over the radio. He turned to look at Flass, who shrugged in a what-can-you-do type manner. “What witness?”

“Couple’s daughter.” The officer pointed to the crowd of vehicles with flashing lights surrounding the scene. There, in the center, was an ambulance. A small child was sitting in the back, shivering, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. “Looks like the family interrupted the perp when they came home. Place is ransacked.”

Jim cursed. “How old is she?”

“Five, sir.”

Jim sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. “Want me to take her statement, Jimmy?” Flass asked.

“No!” Jim said too quickly. Clearing his throat, he said more softly this time, “No. I’ll do it.”

“Suit yourself.”

He let out one more sigh before steadying himself and making his way over to the ambulance. As he approached, he got a better look at the girl. Her hair was plaited down the back in two neat, black braids, and her green eyes were filled with tears. Her jeans were covered in blood. She looked up as he approached, still shaking. Nodding to the paramedics, he took a seat on the back of the ambulance next to her, careful to leave enough room so as not to frighten her. Scared children were a bit like scared animals, he’d discovered. You had to work to earn their trust.

“Hi there,” he said gently. She said nothing. “Can you tell me your name, sweetheart?” She mumbled something that he couldn’t entirely make out. “What was that?”

“My name is Meda Carter,” she said, a little louder, with the pride that only little children could show for their own names.

“Meda,” he repeated it to himself. “That’s a beautiful name.” She murmured her thanks, and he had to smile a bit. Even after what she’d seen, she hadn’t forgotten her manners. She must’ve been raised well. “Can you tell me what happened tonight, Meda?”

She was quiet for so long that Jim wondered if she would speak at all, when finally she said, “We were coming home from the movies.”

He waited for more. When none came, he asked, “What movie did you see?”

“Anastasia.”

“Was it good?”

She nodded. “It was sad, but it had a happy ending.”

He hummed in acknowledgment, then lowered his voice. “What happened when you came home?”

Tears flooded her eyes anew and she started to sob. Jim instinctively put an arm around her and pulled her into his side, making soothing motions on her back the way he had with Barbara and James when they were very young. She wept into his chest for a long time, until she seemed to be all cried out and pulled away.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I got tears all over your shirt.”

“Don’t you worry about that,” he told her. “Don’t you worry about a thing. If you’re not ready to talk tonight, we can wait. We can-”

“No,” she said, surprisingly firmly. “You need my help, right? To find the man who hurt my parents?” Her voice quivered, but she met his eyes steadily.

Jim hesitated. “Yes, we do.”

Nodding, she took a deep breath before beginning. “We were coming home from the movies,” she said again. “When we got home, there was a man standing in our living room. He had a gun in his hand. My daddy went to stand in front of us, and then there was a really loud bang, and he fell to the floor, and then mommy screamed, and she fell to the floor, and he just looked at me and ran out of the room.” She said all this in a rush, as if to get it all out before she dissolved into tears again.

“That’s great, you’re doing real great, sweetheart.” Jim encouraged her. “Can you tell me what he looked like.”

She sniffled and wiped at her eyes. “He was young. Younger than my daddy, I think.” That was promising. Jim made a mental note of it before turning his attention back to Meda. “He had brown hair, and eyes too I think. I don’t really remember that well.”

“That’s okay. Just tell me what you can remember.”

“He was tall,” she continued. “And real skinny.”

“How tall? Taller than me?” Jim stood to his full height.

Meda nodded. “And skinnier than you, too.”

Jim laughed. Meda didn’t seem to know what it was she’d said that was funny, but she gave a watery smile nonetheless. “Lots of people are. Tell me, was he taller than Detective Flass over there?” He pointed to the tall blonde detective, still speaking with the responding officer.

She thought about it, before shaking her head. “About the same height, I think.”

“Good. That’s perfect, Meda, you did a wonderful job.” The adrenaline seemed to have drained out of her, and she slumped against his side.

“Lieutenant Gordon?”

Jim looked up to see a dark-haired woman looking at him expectantly. “I’m with Social Services. If you’re finished with Meda, we’d like to take her for the night, now.”

Meda started shaking again at the woman’s words, and Jim held up a hand to give him a moment. “Meda,” he said softly. “I’m going to go talk to this woman for a minute, and then we’re going to take care of you, alright? I promise.”

She still looked petrified, but she nodded bravely, and Jim gave her shoulder one last squeeze before getting up and leading the woman a short distance away. Lowering his voice to make sure the little girl couldn’t hear, he asked, “You’re taking her to a group home?” The woman nodded. “She’s just been through a massive trauma. She should be with family.”

“I agree,” the woman said, not unkindly. “But she has no family. We checked. Both parents were only children. Her last grandparent died last year. The Carter’s were very young, and seemed to have lost touch with a lot of their friends. There’s simply no one to take her in.”

“Lieutenant Gordon?”

Jim turned to see an older woman with graying hair and a warm smile standing behind him. “Yes?”

“I’m Dr. Leslie Thompkins. I run the clinic down the street. The Carter’s and their daughter were patients of mine.” When he nodded, she continued on, “I couldn’t help but overhear your discussion, and, well…”

“You’d be willing to take her in?” Jim asked hopefully. “Just for now, until we figure something out?”

“Not me, no,” Dr. Thompkins said. She smiled. “I think I know someone even better.”

______________________________________________________________________________

It was clear to even the most sheltered passerby that Bruce Wayne did not belong there. Everything from his salon-styled hair to his designer boots was stood out in this run-down, hopeless place. As he strode through the people in uniform and the paramedics, each one, without fail, stopped to stare. It was a good thing he’d driven his own car. He expected being chauffeured by your butler would’ve made him look even more spoiled and pampered.

He sighed. Another complication.

If he was going to go forward with his crusade, (and he was going forward with it, no matter what scheme Leslie had cooked up to dissuade him), he needed to be someone other than Gotham’s young prince. Too bad he couldn’t figure out what that was.

He pasted the careless smile on his face that he’d been honing to perfection as he made his way past the flashing lights and sirens to the ambulance where the little girl still waited. He turned to one of the officers posted on the street and asked, “Is that her?”

The man gawked at him. “Uh, yes, sir.”

“Great.” Bruce flashed a grin and strolled off towards the child, his careful mask slipping when he caught sight of her knees, painted red. And suddenly he was transported to another night, another street, another child kneeling in a pool of his parents’ blood.

The memories. He couldn’t escape them.

At his approach, the child looked up and stared at him with wide eyes. Whether she was frightened or in awe of him, he couldn’t tell.

“Meda?” he asked gently, getting down on his knees so he could be at her level when talking to her. “I’m-”

“I know who you are,” she cut him off. So she did recognize him, then. “I saw you on the news this morning.”

He gave her a small smile that she didn’t return. “I just got back into town. I heard…I heard that something really bad might’ve happened to you tonight.” She looked down at her feet and didn’t reply. “You know, when I was about your age, just a little bit older, something really bad happened to me, too.” She looked up at him then, head tilted in curiosity. “You see, a very bad man hurt both of my parents, too.” Her eyes widened.

“Did they die, too?” she whispered.

“Yes,” he said, ignoring the stab of pain he felt at talking about it. “Dr. Thompkins is a friend of mine. You remember her, right?” She nodded. “She thought…that is, she felt it might be good if you came to stay with me for a while. With someone who understands.” She continued to look at him, face impassive. “You don’t have to, of course. But is that something that might be okay with you?”

“Yes,” she said, surprisingly quickly.

“Are you sure,” he asked, startled by the rapid response and her quick trust in a stranger after what had happened to her. “Because-”

She looked up at him through tear-filled eyes. “I don’t have anywhere else to go, do I?”

Biting his lip, he shook his head. Meda let out one final sob, and looked up at him, her gaze suddenly steady.

“Then yes.”

AN: Next up is Meda's first introduction to Alfred and the Manor, so stay tuned for that! AO3 link is https://archiveofourown.org/works/29648013

[seelaa26]

2. If I Killed Someone For You

“¿Would you love me more if I killed someone for you? ¿Would you hold my hands? They’re the same ones that I used when I killed someone for you”

It had been a few days since I started working and since my first case. It had been a very quiet week. Week I took the opportunity to meet the rest of the team, because we don’t work independently; Captain Jim Brass, homicide detective and the person we turn to when we need anything legally. Our key lab tech Greg Sanders is first-rate, he’s always smiling and making jokes. Doctor Al Robbins, Chief Coroner, is our secret weapon, not only he is sharp he’s also not disturbed by the actions and habits of humanity.

According to statistics, Tuesday and Wednesday are the days of least criminal activity, so that would explain why half the team had the night off. Since that night only Grissom and I would be there, he promised me that he would introduce me more to his specialty, forensic entomology. I left my bag in my locker when I received a message from Grissom saying he was waiting for me outside, we had a 420. I started studying the codes used by CSIs and police officers and I knew what a 420 was; homicide. Grissom drove in silence until we reached the crime scene. Police had already cordoned off the area, but there were a lot of people around, including journalists. Sergeant Ray O’Riley was waiting for us, he was the one who called Grissom.

-Press is going to be all over this one –he warned us- Four dead; mother, father and two teenage boys. Sisters were luckier. Teen girl heard a noise and hid in the closet. Alerted the neighbors. The younger sister, Brenda, is over there.

-¿What’s the matter with your guys? –Grissom asked him when he saw a couple of officers leaving the house to vomit.

-They’ve been inside.

-I want the paramedics that ran this house back here immediately and call dispatch, you tell all my entire graveyard shift that I want them here ASAP; all of them, no exceptions –Grissom ordered the Sergeant- I’m going to do a preliminary walkthrough and you are going to take my notes, Laura.

We put on gloves and entered the house. The lights were off so we were going with the flashlight and being careful where we stepped. Just entering the house, something started to move in my stomach. I had the feeling that the murders had been brutal.

-The air smells like copper; lots of blood. Breathe through your mouth –Grissom indicated as we climbed the stairs and then we found the first body- Male Caucasian, approximately 40 years old, lying in a pool of blood. No drag marks and body does not appear to have been moved. Multiple stab wounds to the back and neck.. looks like a single edge blade. Head faces west, the feet pointing east.

-Grissom, ¿can you take your own notes? –I asked as I was dizzy and retching- I need a minute.

-I got it –Sara appeared from nowhere and took the notebook I was writing on- Go get some fresh air.

I left the house without touching anything focused on not throwing out until getting a barf bag. Luckily, when I breathed fresh air and leaned on the SUV to have a fixed place, I was starting to feel better again. After a few minutes, the other team members began to arrive but Nick was the first to do it. He parked right next to me and when he got out of the car, he saw me.

-Hey, ¿what are you doing out here? –I looked at him and then he knew- ¡Oh! ¿That bad, huh?

-I thought it would never happen to me.. react like this.

-We all think it won’t happen to us and then it does, so don’t give it too much credit and wait to see a decomposing corpse.

-¡Wow! ¿Aren’t you the life of the party? –I said ironically and we both smiled.

Once the whole team was together, Grissom told us how we were going to work and what each one was going to do.

-First rule for the crime scene; do not do any interviews. Second rule; don’t talk to the sheriff either. Killer was here not two hours ago, he left part of himself behind.

-Edmond Locard’s exchange principle –I muttered, according to what Grissom said. In forensic science, Locard’s principle holds that the perpetrator of a crime will leave something behind and take something with them.  

-Exactly –Grissom nodded- Catherine, Sara, I need you inside, mapping and blood samples. Nick, Warrick, the perimeter. I wanna know how he got here, how he got in, how he got out and how he left.

-I’ll take the back, ¿Warrick you got the front? –Nick asked.

-You got it.

-Laura, I need you to transport the little girl to Sunrise Hospital for a psych evaluation. Once you’ve done it, come back here.

I nodded and headed to the police car where the little girl was sitting bundled up in a police jacket. She showed no emotion, instead she kept staring at the house. I bent down in front of her and looked at her with a slight smile.

-¡Hi! My name is Laura, ¿is your name Brenda? –suddenly, she looked at me but she didn’t say anything- ¿Do you want to go for a ride with me?

***

After taking Brenda to the hospital and leaving her with the woman from Family Services and the Doctor, I went back to the crime scene, just like Grissom told me. When I arrived, I found him trying to escape the press.

-Grissom, I’m back –I approached him- The doctor will page me when he’s done with the evaluation. ¿Where do you want me meanwhile?

-¿Do you think you can take the interior of the house? –he asked due to my reaction before.

-Yes, I do.

-Grissom –a man in a suit approached us, and then he saw me- ¿Who’s this?

-This is Laura –he kindly stated- She’s the new CSI.

-¿Do you think it’s okay to put a rookie on a high-profile case?

-I know what I’m doing, Sheriff.

-Mayor just called.. ¿so what do you’ve got? –Grissom denied with his head- Just give me something I can run with, I have to talk to the press.

-As soon as I have something, you’ll have something.

In the most elegant way, Grissom excused us and we entered the house again. For a couple of hours, I helped Catherine and Sara collect blood samples from every blood splatter and record each one on the crime scene map. The map was going to help us clarify the situation of how the crime was committed.

-¿What’s your take? –I asked them.

-Whoever did it, killed the mother first, in her sleep quick–Sara began to explain.

-Explains why the blood is confined in the bed and the floor under it.

-Husband woke up, ran to protect his kids –Sara continued- The killer stabbed him and then finished him off down the hall.

-Gave his life for the little girl –I concluded, since he died near Brenda’s door.

My phone rang indicating that I had received a message from the hospital. They had finished the psychological evaluation, so I had to go. I said goodbye to the girls and I went down the stairs. David, the forensic assistant, was walking out the door carrying the body of a family member. Before exiting the house, Nick lifted the sheet that covered the body and covered it again pissed off.

-This kid should be out playing football –he exhaled and then hit the door.  

-This is getting under your skin, huh –he just looked at me with a frown so I decided to try to make him laugh to calm him- Don’t give it too much credit and wait to see how it swells.

-¿That’s what I get for helping you before? –he smiled at me knowing that I returned his joke.

-Put some ice on it before the swelling starts –I answered with a smile.

***

Connie, the Family Services person assigned to the case, and I were waiting when the doctor left the office and came to see us with Brenda. We both got up as soon as we saw them arrive.

-Brenda’s fine but I’d like her to have a consult –he looked at his wrist watch- I’ve paged the psychiatric resident, he should be here within the hour.

-Thanks –Connie said placing her hand on Brenda’s back- I’ll take it from here.

-¿What’s the head exam for? –I asked.

-I said we’ll take it from here –she insisted- It’s already going to be tense.

-Look, if there’s any forensic evidence found during this exam, I need to be there –suddenly, Brenda pulled away from Connie and hugged me around the waist- It’s okay Brenda, I’m not leaving you.

***

After a couple of hours in the hospital with Brenda, I got a message from Warrick saying that we were all going to meet in the break room to review the case. When I arrived at the Crime Lab everyone was muttering about a suspect.

-Hey, I heard you have a suspect –I entered the room and went straight to the fridge to get my sandwich, then I sat down.

-We have about four and with the tire prints alone –Warrick answered.

-Let’s talk about what else we have –Grissom put on his glasses- Tina Collins’ pajama top from the murder scene without a drop of blood on it.

-¿How do you explain that? –I asked- If my whole family was murdered, I’d run to them to check to see if they are still alive.

-We are about to go ask her –Catherine answered- Nick, ¿what did you find out about the stuff that you collected at the back of the house?

-¿The bidi? –he bit his sandwich and continued explaining- DNA still processing but Tina said nobody in the family smoked.

-So a non-family member was out there –Sara summarized.

-¿Bidi? ¿Bidi? –Grissom repeated- I thought you found a cigarette and a match behind the house.

-It’s just like a cigarette –he answered trying not to laugh- Kids smoke them they think there’s less carbon monoxide.

-¿What did you find out about the psychic exam on the little girl? –Catherine asked me.

-The shrink says the kid is in a catatonic state from the trauma. I could’ve told you that, but she did respond at the name “Buffalo”. She freaked out.

-¿Where is she? –Grissom asked.

-I left her in the car, the windows are cracked –I answered with a straight face and everyone looked at me with their mouths open- Give me a little credit, she’s at the hospital.

When they realized I was teasing them, they breathed a sigh of relief and then laughed about it. Warrick, Nick and Sara went to question the other three suspects, who shared the scooter, the getaway vehicle. Catherine, Grissom and I went to talk with the teenage daughter, Tina.

-I don’t know why I didn’t get blood on my pajamas, I just didn’t.

-But your statement says that you bent down and hugged your mother, who was bleeding profusely –Catherine stated- Then you ran out, tripping over your father’s body in the upstairs hallway.

-But there was no blood on you –Grissom looked at her.

-I saw my family dead, I was scared.. I ran to the neighbors. That is the truth.

-The evidence is telling us a different story.

-Guys, Nick matched the matches found in the back of the house with the matches from a suspect –Jim Brass entered the room- Kid’s name is Jesse Overton, he time shares the scooter, he admits to having sex with your girl and he’s asking for a lawyer. I want to get a warrant and search his house.

-I want to see my sister –Tina said nervously- You don’t understand, I need to speak with her.

-She won’t speak, the doctor says it’s from trauma. –I said, unable to contain myself anymore- ¿What happened, Tina? ¿Did she catch your boyfriend killing your family?

***

Apparently, Brass found the getaway vehicle dismantled by pieces tossed in the trash at the main suspect’s house, and that wasn’t the only thing, he also found bloodstained jeans. Genius criminal. We got to do a polygraph test even though we already knew it was him, but we wanted to know the truth. This time, the whole team was behind the observation glass and a professional asked the questions, but we wrote them down.

-¿Did Tina Collins approached you at school and asked you to kill her family?

-Yes.

-¿Did you kill her family?

-Yes.

-¿Did Tina let you in the front door the night of the killings?

-Yes.

-¿Did she already have a knife for you?

-No, she let me choose.

-¿Did you use that knife to kill Barbara Collins, Mr. Collins and both sons?

-Yes.

-¿Did Tina Collins tell you she wanted them dead so you could see each other?

-Yes.

After the last question, we all left the room and sat on the benches outside. Brass was in charge of talking to the professional about the test. It didn’t take long for him to come out with the result sheet.

-Well, the sick bastard was on the open up except your last question –he explained- Operator says his respiratory reactions were inconsistent. He’s lying.

-We got them both –Nick said- I don’t much care why they did it.

-I’m with you there –Warrick agreed.

-I care –Grissom mumbled- I don’t like holes. ¿What are they hiding?

***

After Grissom reviewed all the evidence again, he found something that was the reason for me to return to the hospital. He found a silver necklace with an engraved buffalo on it. I followed my boss’s orders, so I took the ultraviolet camera and went to Brenda Collins’ room.

-This is a very special camera because it can see deep into your skin, can see things nobody can see –I explained to her- ¿How about if I take a picture of me first, okay?

I raised my arm and photographed it for her to see that it didn’t hurt. She nodded and smiled slightly, so with her permission, I untied the knot of the medical gown she was wearing and lowered to her shoulders.

-¿Are you ready?

She nodded again with a paralyzing look, and then I took the picture. The most important thing was to reveal the photograph and discover if our theory was correct and if it was, it was a tragedy. Sadly, the photo reveal confirmed it.

***

Despite having both of them, we had to talk to the teenage sister, Tina Collins, one last time to tell her that we knew what happened and why they did it. Grissom and Brass entered the interrogation room and showed Tina her sister’s picture. She put her hand on her mouth and closed her eyes.

-We have forensic evidence that your father sexually abused your sister –Grissom said- We also know that he was in her room the night of the murders.  

-¿How can you tell?

-Blood drops –he answered- They fall a certain way depending on the motion of the victim. Something horrible happened in that house, ¿didn’t it Tina?.. Long before the night of the murders.

-That was the last night he was gonna touch her –she said in an angry tone.

-¿But why your mother and why your brothers?

-Because they should have protected me –she changed her tone from anger to sadness- My father.. I was young, I learned to deal but when he went for my daughter..

Dead silence. Desolation and pain filled our silence as we exchanged looks.

-¿Brenda is..? –Grissom couldn’t finish his question- ¿And who is..?

-¿The father? –she finished for him- I was 13 and nobody noticed that my clothes were getting bigger. ¿Nice, huh? Brenda may hate me for what I did but I protected her.

***

After Tina went back to jail and Brenda was taken to Family Services, it was when I allowed myself to collect my things and finish the day. When I got to the locker room, I saw Grissom gathering his things and Nick sitting on the bench with an ice pack on his hand.

-It will be back in normal in 24 hours –Grissom said to him.

-Normal would be nice.

-¿What is normal? –I tossed without thinking, but that question made Grissom stop- Normality is a question of our point of view, our interpretation of reality and it’s also a way to ignore our problems. For that girl, normality was being abused. For me, it became normal to see my uncle drink half a bottle of whisky each day, but in reality, he was becoming an alcoholic.

-You are right–Grissom nodded- Normal is an illusion; what is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.

[constantviewings]

The TV Show Trials - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Based out of the New York City Police Department’s 16th precinct in Manhattan, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit delves into the dark side of the New York underworld as the detectives of a new elite force, the Special Victims Unit, investigate and prosecute various sexually-oriented crimes.

This is the second part of this month’s TV Show Trials – Double Feature. If you would like to read the first part, where I reviewed Law and Order, you can find it here. As stated in the first part of this review, Special Victims Unit is my favourite of the two. As always with anthology series, I will give my opinions on each episode individually before summarising my thoughts on the series at the end.

American Tragedy

A celebrity Southern chef shoots and kills a teenage African-American boy that she thought was a serial rapist. But was her life in danger, or was she just an over-reactive racist?

 This episode is based off of both the shooting of Trayven Martin and several racist remarks made by Paula Deen. This is a good episode overall, the perpetrator is very easy to hate due to her ignorance and blatant racism.

Funny Valentine

Can SVU convince an up-and-coming singer to break away from her abusive hip-hop singer boyfriend before it is too late?

 The parallels between this episode and the incident between Chris Brown and Rihanna are loud a clear, so much so that they name drop the real-life inspiration in the episode. Once again, the perpetrator is very easy to hate, and though I tried my hardest I couldn’t help but blame the victim slightly for what happened to her in the end.

American Disgrace

A basketball legend is accused of raping multiple women, but exactly what role did the powerful CEO of the sports apparel company who had a contract with him play in the situation?

 The immediate ties between this episode and its real life counterpart are harder to spot due to the fact that it mixes together elements of multiple cases. This is most likely the reason that I found this episode less enjoyable than most others.

Pornstars Requiem

Two college students are accused of raping a classmate who had appeared in a series of violent online pornographic videos.

 All this episode left me thinking is: can’t people just treat sex workers like they’re normal people (because they are). Just because someone works in the adult entertainment industry does not mean you can assume what rights they do or don’t have. This episode did bring another main element forward, it was this episode that finally gave me a favourite character, Rafael Barba.

Influence

Rock star Derek Lord goes on a national talk show and lectures about the abuse of psychiatric drugs. Meanwhile, an unstable young woman loses her virginity, goes off her prescribed medication, gets behind the wheel of a car, and mows down 10 people. As these events are played out in a highly charged way, the argument about prescribed “meds” is challenged.

 God, this episode pulled some very strong opinions and feelings from me. I don’t think I can support Tom Cruise, as an individual, after learning of his blatant disregard for the psychiatric profession. Apart from the Tom Cruise inspired elements, this episode is an original concept separated from famous events and it raises a serious debate about whether you can convict someone who is affected by mental illness that inhibits their reasoning abilities.

Sick

Two children claim that they were molested by a billionaire.

 Before this episode, I had no clue that there where paedophilic allegations towards Michael Jackson; call me ignorant all you want. I won’t present my personal views on the real-life situation here; but I might in a full review of Leaving Neverland. But, I can say for certain that this episode left me feeling sick.

Blood Brothers

A pregnant 13 year old girl from Washington Heights claims that the son of an ambassador raped her, but the accused goes missing before SVU can question him.

 I never thought I would watch something where the main premise is that of a child killing another child, but here I am. This episode drew inspiration from the Arnold Schwarzenegger scandal from 2011, where he cheated on his wife with a housekeeper who then becomes pregnant with his child and has him play the mother for child support. All these elements are used in this episodes, with an extra sprinkling of child murder to spice things up a bit.

Personal Fouls

SVU investigates an accusation that a revered high school basketball coach sexually abused his players, but they ultimately may need the cooperation of a reluctant pro superstar to make case.

 This episode brought with it some ups and downs, it contained my first recognisable celebrity cameo with Aaron Tviet and the main disappointment that there were no court scenes; which are easily my favourite parts of the show.

Selfish

An immature, irresponsible young mother is assumed to have killed her child, but it turns out to be part of a measles outbreak. A.D.A. Cabot then goes after the mother of the child who started the outbreak, who refuses to immunise him.

 This episode features another easily recognisable celebrity cameo, Hillary Duff. This episode combines the polarising anti-vaccination community and irresponsible mother Casey Anthony; who killed her daughter so she could have a social life. This episode is packed with drama and entertainment value as we encounter twists and turns with this case.

Game

The squad is at a loss on what to do with a violent homicide when Stabler’s son points out that the event is straight out a video game. Interviewing the game’s creators leads them to a former employee, who then leads them (with a few other steps along the way) to a teenage couple who claim to be unable to distinguish fantasy from reality.

 This was probably the least entertaining episode of those I watched. This episode doesn’t revolve around a specific crime, but the topic of violent video games; specifically the Grand Theft Auto franchise. I wasn’t very engaged throughout this episode, as it lacks a clear through-line to keep my attention over the course of it.

Monogamy

The case involves the beating of a seven-months-pregnant woman, whose unborn child has been torn from her body via a primitive caesarean section. Among the many witnesses questioned is the woman’s husband, a psychiatrist with several devastating secrets and knows more about his wife’s beating than he’s willing to admit.

 This episode has, hands down, the best ending out of all the episodes I watched; and is maybe my favourite episode from SVU.

Babes

The grisly murder of a homeless man leads detectives to four high school girls with a pregnancy pact. But after their pact is revealed, somebody drives the girls’ ringleader to an apparent suicide.

 The only note I made about this episode was the boyfriend of the ringleader acted well, so this episode must have been pretty average for me to not write anything else.

Imprisoned Lives

The case of an abandoned seven-year-old boy in Times Square leads to the shocking discovery of two women locked in a basement cage by their abductors for nearly a decade.

 The obvious inspiration for this episode was Ariel Castro. I somewhat enjoyed this episode, but while watching it I couldn’t help but think of Room.

Scavenger

The entire SVU squad races against the clock to solve the puzzles and uncover clues scattered throughout NYC by a serial killer who is taunting then to find him and the next victims on his list.

 This is a really good episode that kept me on my toes the entire time. I don’t have much else to say other than this was the best episode I watched; hands down.

Head

A coprophillic Cyber-Peeping Tom catches a child abuse case on video.

 This is a mildly interesting episode based on the Mary Kay Letourneau case, who raped and was impregnated by their 13-year-old student. Though, the episode incorporates a brain tumour that caused the perpetrator to have paedophilic urges, which is extremely interesting.

Overall, I like SVU more than it’s predecessor and I am quite likely to continue watching it; but casually, as compared to full-time.

[stargleeksil-blog]

Criminal Minds S07E02 “Proof” review

Episode 02 – Proof

So I am so fucking excited about this season.

I just hope my lovely, cutie Morgan can find it in his ginormous heart to forgive Prentiss, because my heart will literally break if I have to see another scene featuring that offended face of his.

So ....

Let’s see what happens.

So that guy is a homicidal Pinocchio? Gross.

“So you finished the course?”

“And completed my case rotation.”

“Hotch says he’s never seen a rookie profiler analyze and write up cases as well as you.”

Wait, so JJ is officially a profiler now? AWESOME!

“He said that?”

You bet, babe.

“Yeah. Well, after all the cases you presented over the years, I’m not surprised.”

“Hey, where have you been? I wanted to do brunch this weekend.”

“I had to deal with some stuff with my mom. Have you seen Garcia?”

Poodle, I’m about to whoop your cute little butt, what the fuck?

“Uh, she’s with Rossi.”

“He hates me.”

“He was just busy.”

Oh Emily, you cutie BFF, you’re the best.

“Let it go.”

I love her.

“Okay, you can be honest. I can take it.”

“Okay. I prefer my pasta al dente, and the pancetta was a little weird.”

“Oh. That’s ‘cause it’s tofu.”

“Tofu? I give you my recipe and you do an improve?”

I’m with Rossi all the way. I love my veggie goddess, but I love my meat more ... sorry.

“No, no, I followed it down to the micron, aside from the pig.”

“Look, master of all things Italian, I am having a Fellini festival at my house this weekend and I must serve the beautiful food of his country.”

“Maybe you should show a Disney film and stick with burgers.”

WHAT?! Oh my sarcastic Italian stallion.

“You know, Rossi, you could always give Penelope a cooking lesson.”

“Oh, my gosh, that would be amazing.”

Oh my god, Rossi’s ‘thanks for throwing me under the bus, bub’ face makes me smile.

“That would be like – that would be like the Iron Chef meets the BAU. And we could do ait at your house.”

“I don’t have a house, I have a mansion.”

Of course you do XD

“All right, let’s get started.”

Oh my god, JJ handing over the remote to Penelope is the cutest!

“Oh. All right, mes amis. You are jetting to Durant, Oklahoma, because in the last three days, two women have been found dead after being sexually tortured and then blinded with a sulfuric acid solution.”

Yikes.

“Abby Elcott is our first victim. 19-year-old art student. She was headed to campus for an advanced drawing class. She’d been missing for two days. Same goes for our second victim, Beth Westerly, 17. She had just finished her coffee shop shift and was on her way to a bar method class.”

Whew, that’s brutal.

“Both low-risk victims.”

“And physically similar. How close are the two abduction sites?”

“Five miles apart at bus stops. Abby’s cell was found near one, Beth’s scarf near the other.”

“Where are the dump sites?”

“One in an alley, the other in a field.

“So he stapled their eyes open, then he blinded them. It’s about power and control.”

GROSS! Pinocchio, stop it!

“Maybe he didn’t want them to watch while he hurt them.”

“Or it could be about shame. Perhaps the unsub is disfigured himself.”

“Blinding the victims leaves them helpless, lost, totally dependent.”

“It may be a manifestation of how he sees himself in this world.”

“It is a form of enucleation, just without the scalpel. His face is the last they see before darkness.”

“The rest of us, ,wheels up in 30 minutes.”

Mark Twain: “If it is a miracle, any sort of evidence will answer. But if it is fact, proof is necessary.”

“Victimology is very similar. Blond-haired, blue-eyed teenage girls. We believe they were each abducted near public transportation stops.”

“When was this photo taken?”

“Beth was caught on a bank surveillance camera three hours before she disappeared.”

Whoop. Seriously, those bank surveillance cameras are creeping me out.

“That’s a recent photo of Abby.”

“So she wasn’t found in the same clothes she was abducted in.”

“Maybe he changed them because hers were burned by the sulfuric acid.”

“It’s possible. Sulfuric acid can turn human flesh into soap.”

“Garcia, any recent similar cases in the surrounding area?”

“Actually, yes. Two months ago a prostitute and a runaway were both found raped and killed and they had stab wounds to their eyes.”

“So maybe he practiced on high-risk victims first. And then advanced to chemical enucleation.”

“Isn’t that a rare paraphilia?”

“Well, the chemical part is. It would exacerbate the pain.”

“Like Ed Kemper, he’s probably practicing on surrogates before going after the real object of his rage.”

“Dave, you and I will talk to the parents. Morgan and Prentiss, go to the disposal sites. JJ, you and Reid go to the abduction sites.”

Awkward.

“It’s amazing on one witnessed her abduction.”

“Emily was buried six feet under and wound up in Paris, so I guess anything’s possible, right?”

“So that is what this is about.”

Yup.

“Maybe our unsub’s a little bit like Bundy. He feigns injury in order to get her to help him.”

“Look, Spence, if you want to talk about this …”

“Maybe he tried other tactics, like ‘Wow, you’re really pretty’. ‘You should be a model. I can take your photo’.”

“I’ll take that as a no.”

“Either one would disarm her.”

“Charm is quite the killer.”

“So are tears.”

Whoa, what the fuck, Spence?

“You smell the urine?”

“I thought that was air freshener.”

XD

“It’s a homeless corridor.”

“This guy’s either homeless or appears to be. He most likely has a car, to get them from the abduction site to here.”

“Just because you’re homeless doesn’t mean you’re careless.”

“It could explain why he chose high-risk victims at first. They were all around him.”

“I know this is difficult, but I need you to look at the clothes that Abby was wearing when we found her.”

“Do you recognize them?”

“Do you find anything odd about Beth’s clothing?”

“You sure?”

“You’re sure?”

What are they trying to make sure of?

“In addition to the blinding, taking their clothes further robs them of their identity.”

“He’s either keeping their garments as souvenirs or re-dressing the victims as a forensic countermeasure.”

“Dressing them in these outfits could be part of the fantasy.”

“Churches, thrift stores. We need to rule everything out.”

“Reid and JJ went to the local thrift shop and found Abby’s clothes.”

“So he sold them.”

Yup.

“Or traded them for the eighties clothing.”

“The sales clerk said the clothes in the crime scene photos were of that time period, and he confirmed that they were purchased from his store.”

“So if he’s getting rid of his souvenirs …”

“What’s he using to remember his victims?”

“And why is he fixated on this era?”

“What do you got?”

“The brutality the victims experienced was immense. Multiple stab wounds to the neck and chest, plus wounds to the genital.”

“Frustration and overkill.”

“The same chemical damage on the skin is also around her nostrils.”

“And that would destroy their sense of smell, yes?”

Yup.

“He burned her tongue with the chemical this time.”

“So he removed her ability to taste.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Maybe she offended him.”

“I wonder what that’s like.”

WHOA.

Poodle, you are pissing me off here.

“Her lips are extremely chapped.”

“She was probably forced to repeatedly participate in some sort of kissing fantasy. And when things go awry, he takes the offending sense away.”

“He tortured her in these clothes, which means the eighties are essential to his delusion.”

“Maybe that’s when his rejection occurred and he held on to the clothes all these years.”

“But why start now?”

“Something probably triggered it, and instead of dealing with it, he’s acting out.”

“We believe the unsub or unknown subject that we’re looking for is a white male in his 40s. This is someone who’s reacting to rejection by a woman when he was teenager in the 1980s.”

“The unsub’s fixation on this woman is now all-consuming. It’s caused him to develop obsessive love disorder.”

“He most likely has tunnel vision and believes that she holds the key to his happiness.”

“And it’s only a matter of time before his rage and anger causes the unsub to go after her directly.”

“Spence. Look, we gotta talk about this.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I get it, okay? You’re disappointed with the way we handled Emily.”

“Listen, I have a lot going on, all right?”

“You know what I think this is?”

“What?”

Ooh, pissy poodle.

“You’re mad that Hotch and I controlled our micro-expressions at the hospital and you wouldn’t be able to detect our deception.”

Seriously?!

“You think it’s about my profiling skills?”

“Jennifer, listen, the only reason you were able to manage my perceptions is because I trusted you.”

“I came to your house for ten weeks in a row crying over losing a friend, and not once did you have the decency to tell me the truth.”

Shit.

“I couldn’t.”

“You couldn’t? Or you wouldn’t?”

Um ...

“No, I couldn’t.”

“What if I started taking Dilaudid again? Would you have let me?”

“You didn’t.”

“Yeah, but I thought about it.”

“Spence.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s too late, all right?”

Whoa.

“Reid.”

Yikes. This is going to be hard.

“It would have had to have been a woman very close to the unsub to make him react this way.”

“Then why go after surrogates?”

“I don’t think we’re dealing with a typical homeless person.”

“He’s good with chemicals, owns a car.”

“I think the only mistake in our profile was assuming there was something wrong with his physical composition, reducing him to some sort of stereotype.”

“You think it’s only his mental state?”

“I think this guy might be smart enough to use his disability to his advantage so he comes across as harmless.”

“Then when he’s alone and the victim rejects him, he goes off.”

“What if he doesn’t live on the street?”

“What if he’s in a halfway house?”

“Garcia, I need a list of halfway houses and mental health centers in the unsub’s comfort zone.”

“Okay. Five are being sent to your phones.”

“Which of those were around in the eighties, Garcia?”

“There are two in your area.”

“Morgan and Prentiss, take the first. David and I will take the second.”

“What about us?”

“Stay here and check ViCAP for similar MOs and signatures.”

“Reid.”

“If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me.”

“I can’t. I didn’t come to your house crying for ten weeks.”

Oh, my honey baby.

So she has a list. Damn.

“All right, we’ll need a list of those names.”

“Hey, Morgan.”

“What do I do about Reid?”

“Emily, there’s a lot about you being back that’s unresolved.”

“Are you pissed at me, too?”

He better not be.

“Come on, now. How can I be?”

“You’re here.”

“Thank you.”

“Because I know what you went through. Grief counseling. You carried my coffin.”

“Yeah, I sure did.”

“What was in that thing, anyway?”

“I don’t know.”

I WANT TO KNOW!

“Thank you very much.”

“Look, just give Reid some time. He’ll be fine.”

“Thanks.”

“Yeah, Hotch, it’s me, Morgan. Listen, nineteen people entered this house in the eighties who were let out in the last five years.”

“We got eleven from the one we visited.”

Damn.

“Send your names to Garcia. Have her cross-check them against jobs that use sulfuric acid.”

“All right. We’ll start reaching out to the extended families.”

“How’s Reid?”

“He’s angry and frustrated.”

“I’m surprised everybody isn’t.”

“Some of us had an inkling.”

Rossi, you little Italian cupcake.

“What? I’m good at what I do.”

“So, are you gonna get psychological counseling for the team or handle it yourself?”

“No, I think that if we all just got together, maybe a cooking lesson and at the home of one of our founders …”

“Oh, no, not you, too.”

“It could boost morale?”

“Is that an order?”

“No, it’s just a … it’s a very tempered suggestion.”

“Tempered suggestion.”

LOL.

“So we interviewed the nineteen people released from the group home. None of them fit the profile.”

“Dave’s still trying to locate the families.”

“Where are her parents now?”

“They’re at the house. We’re bringing her friends in for questioning.”

“You head over there. We’ll start the interviews here.”

“So kids spill out of the motel towards the cars.”

“If Tammy walked this way, how could she disappear without anyone seeing her?”

“Someone would have heard her scream.”

“That’s if she screamed.”

“Unlike the last three abduction sites, this one is nowhere near public transportation. Maybe she knew the unsub.”

“Or thought she did.”

“What if … what if Tammy was the target all along?”

“That would explain the change in MO.”

“So whoever did this knew she was coming here.”

Calling gorgeous goddess.

“Hi, hi, hi.”

“Hey, baby girl, I need you to work that magic for me.”

“Anything, my sweetest.”

“I just opened up Tammy Bradstone’s computer. I want you to check her emails, web searches, and anyone she may have Skyped.”

“Okay, typing at the speed of thought.”

“Thanks, mama.”

“We’re gonna try, little man.”

This man is seriously the most amazing thing to ever grace my screen.

“Listen, uh, did your sister dye her hair recently?”

“Are you sure that Tammy hasn’t been behaving differently lately/”

“Your daughter seems to cherish hanging out in groups, so there’s no way she would run off with someone unless she knew them.”

“What about her computer?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary, and Hotch cleared the boyfriend.”

“Do you know anyone who is transient or mentally ill?”

“What’s his name?”

“On the halfway house list, all I got was a Ben Bradstone.”

“Where does he live?”

“His frontal lobe damage is one of the indicators of serial killers.”

“Has Cy ever acted inappropriately toward Tammy?”

“Okay, so he sleeps here sometimes, and his head is on this side.”

“That puts the TV out of his sight.”

“Well, it just gives him a full view of the kitchen.”

“Does Tammy cook for him?”

“Ma’am, what’s your relationship with Cy?”

“He makes you uncomfortable, doesn’t he?”

“Did you have blonde hair in high school?”

“Sir, your daughter just dyed her hair blonde.”

“You allowed her to wear your dress.”

“I’m just thinking it may have triggered something for Cy.”

“What happened with you and Cy that made him so angry?”

“And what happened next?”

“How did he behave after that?”

“How he talked, how he smelled?”

“Does Cy know about your recent marital problems?”

“And then he probably started making advances towards you, which you had to reject.”

“Okay, so as long as Tammy doesn’t do anything to antagonize him, we may have a chance.”

Yeah, like that’s gonna happen.

“How do you know he’s here?”

“So then you head to the front door.”

“When you open it, what do you smell?”

“Are you sure that’s all you smell?”

“What does he do next?”

“Where’s it from?”

“Is there a name on the cup?”

“Okay. He probably stops there every time he comes here.”

“What days would those be?”

“Which means he’d be coming today.”

“I need you to leave a message for him there.”

“Any luck?”

“He hasn’t been to either of the mechanics’ shops in the past two months.”

“But the one on Fourth said a bunch of car batteries had gone missing.”

“Wait …”

Gorgeous goddess calling.

“Yeah?”

“Morgan, it’s from a payphone near a coffee shop.”

“It’s him.”

Boom.

“Okay, go ahead. Just like we talked about.”

“You and Prentiss stay with them. Morgan and I will get the front.”

“Cy Bradstone! FBI!”

“Let me see your hands!”

“On your knees, now!”

“Get up.”

“Stop moving. Stop it!”

“We need to know where Tammy is, Cy. We’ve looked in your car. There’s no sign of her.”

“We know this isn’t about Tammy. This is about your love for Lyla.”

“You and Lyla had a pretty good secret all these years. How’d she get you to shut up about it?”

“Is that where you, uh, did it, Cy?”

“Is that the same place you took Tammy?”

“We know you saw her in that dress, it made you think of Lyla.”

“Tammy’s not the one you want to hurt, Cy. Lyla’s the one who should be punished.”

“She’s the one who made you feel like a freak.”

“A reject, a weirdo.”

“Tell us where Tammy is, Cy, and we can be done.”

“Finished?”

“Now, where’s Tammy, Cy?”

“Cy, just tell me where she is.”

“What did she say, Cy?”

“Where do you have her?”

“She’s got a pulse.”

“I need a medic in here!”

“Oh, jeez.”

Scott Adams: “Nothing inspires forgiveness quite like revenge.”

“So, the surgeon said he believes he can restore feeling to Tammy’s hands.”

“Good. We got there in time.”

“I heard Mr. Bradstone wants to watch the tape.”

“People have an innate curiosity to see things in order to confirm them.”

“Oh, that explains why I’m going to Rossi’s tomorrow night.”

“I want to see if he really can cook.”

“You coming?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure I can make it.”

“Look, Reid, I know you’re made at us because we didn’t tell you what really happened, and I understand that.”

“But I promise you, we had no choice.”

“You mourned the loss of a friend.”

“I mourned the loss of six.”

“This whole thing gave me an ulcer. Please don’t give me another.”

“Are you gonna go to Rossi’s tomorrow?”

“We’ll see.”

Oh, Prentiss.

“Cooking is the most sensual art form. And these are my paints.”

“So your hands must be brushes.”

“Don’t interrupt.”

I love this show so fucking much!

“In a pot of boiling water we cook our spaghetti until it’s al dente, firm to the touch.”

“Here you go.”

“Everybody pass it around.”

“See/Feel the texture.”

“There we go. Okay.”

“Now …”

“In a large pan, we fry up our pancetta.”

So fucking cute!

“Keeping a sharp eye that the edges are crisp.”

“Be careful not to burn the onions.”

“Bravo, Aaron!”

XD

“We sauté until translucence.”

Ding dong.

“Uh … I got it.”

“Grazie mille.”

So cute.

“Now, we mix in the eggs … the parmesan … the spaghetti … and parsley.”

“You see, it’s all about timing and rhythm.”

Busted.

I’m with Penelope here XD

“And if you don’t feel yourself doing it properly, please, order a pizza.”

“Sorry, I’m late.”

“Yeah. And this is why I cook alone.”

He’s so freaking cute!

“So, uh, when do we get to drink the wine?”

“Almost there.”

“Okay. We start at the beginning.”

“You eat what you cook, I’ll supervise, but we’re gonna do this all together, just like a family.”

“Okay now?”

“Now.”

“Salud!”

“Salud!”

“I’m reaching!”

She’s so cute!

Oh my freaking goodness! This episode was perfect on every possible level!!!!!!

It had the usual grossness of the case and the un sub, slight humor even though I wanted to bash Cy’s head in the wall. It had the internal drama surrounding Prentiss’s return, which will only serve to further the season’s plot and I’m so excited about it. It had humor with the whole Rossi trying to keep the team at bay and not let him in, which will never work so long as Penelope is part of the team. And it had emotional value with Reid, and of course my gorgeous Morgan being cute towards kid and finally forgiving Prentiss. And then the whole wrapping it up with the perfect dinner at Rossi’s, I just love the writers and producers of this show.

As ever, so freaking grateful that you guys take the time to like my stupid brain vomits. THANK YOU!

And, as ever, here is a series of Reid/Morgan-licious photos.

[roslinadama-sinequanon]

Major Crimes Re-Watch-The Agony and the Ecstasy

To me, this episode was all about the “new kid”, being the new kid and dealing with the new kid, and how the different characters handle that. Sharon’s life lesson to Rusty at the end of the episode is that throughout life you will always be the newbie at some point but if you don’t run, eventually you’ll find your place and someone else will be new.

Right now, Sharon is the new kid on the block and she has spent the last few episodes dealing with the barbs and cold shoulders of a team not completely ready to accept her. However, instead of running, she stood her ground and worked to forge relationships and take her place among them—and it is working for the most part. . Provenza is still struggling to deal with the new kid who has walked in and taken what he considered his place as the leader of the team. He is irritated that his friends/colleagues are accepting Sharon so easily and it leaves him feeling rather lost. But now it isn’t so much about Sharon as it is about his bruised ego and not being sure where he fits in anymore.

And of course, Rusty is struggling with his first day of school and all that goes with being the new kid. However, unlike Sharon he is not trying to forge relationships and make a place for himself because he is convinced that he is not going to stay and it’s easier to shove people away before they shove you away, which has been the story of his life.

Ovi kills his father because he does not want to go into witness protection, move to Oklahoma and be the new kid there. He doesn’t want to lose his friends. His is the most extreme response of the four.

“I need to be at a crime scene!” “My clothes are off, MY CLOTHES ARE OFF” The episode starts with one of my favorite Sharon/Rusty scenes—Sharon trying to wake Rusty up so she can get to work. Typical mother/son morning. The way Sharon wakes Rusty, slowly, then more urgently each time she goes in shows us that she really is used to dealing with teenagers. You cannot just wake a teenager and expect them to jump right up and Sharon gets that.

So, Rusty looks at the clock and complains that it is not even 6:00am yet—and that is the third time Sharon has gone in to wake him so she probably started somewhere between 5:30 and 5:45 and she looks THAT GOOD. She had to have gotten up around 4:00 to have showered, blown her hair dry, done her make-up and dressed so impeccably. In episode one Sharon tells Rusty that “lights’ out” is 10:30. That means Sharon only got about 5 hours sleep. She looks damn good for only five hours. Later we hear that the murder occurred around 5:20am so Sharon couldn’t have gotten the call until around 5:30ish so she was obviously up and very nearly ready to go before she even got the call.

“I shouldn’t even be going to this school I’m not even Catholic.” “Just walk around with a guilty look on your face. You’ll fit right in.” LOL, I just had to remark on this, because as a Catholic, I totally get this. Also, it gives us more insight into Sharon and the world of “doing the right thing” where she resides--and the weight of the guilt when she feels she hasn’t. It is ingrained in her and a lot of that comes from her religion.

“Stay THERE” Here we can see why Sharon chose the more family friendly hours of working in PSB while she raised Emily and Ricky. Being a single mother and being a homicide detective is NOT easy. She’s lucky that Rusty is a witness and she could get Buzz to drive him to school.  

Andy and Sharon-Again, in this scene we get a sympathetic look from Andy to Sharon over Rusty. I think watching Sharon deal with Rusty really changed the way that Andy looked at her. He began to respect her not just as a colleague but also as a person and he grew to have a certain warmth and empathy for her. Later in the episode when things go the way Sharon planned in the case—a scenario Provenza was against---she gives Andy a fist pump and he gives her a thumbs up. They have become a great team.

“What happened in Pittsburg?” “You think you need to know everything?” LOL, the look on Andy’s face. Not sure he’s heard that one before in response to police questioning. Roma was pretty outlandish but for some reason this simple line really made me laugh.

“You had me at overtime”- Again, really liked watching Sharon dealing with the FBI and her professional relationship with Fritz. She doesn’t hesitate to put her foot down when she feels taken advantage of, however, she’s more than willing to work with the FBI—provided they do as much giving as they are receiving.

“You’re divorced, you have a hole in your heart so deep you couldn’t fill it up with booze so you cover it up with a badge. You feel like you destroyed your children’s lives even though they say they forgive you.” “Is that all you got?” Said through Andy’s gritted teeth. “You’re smart, cynical and tough.” This is my other favorite scene in this episode because for the first time we get some insight into who Andy is and a tiny bit of back story.  Though this is coming from Thorn, Andy’s response shows us that the guy obviously hit a nerve so there is some real truth in there. Andy tried to cover up his loneliness with booze, then with long hours at work and then with a string of pretty women, but it is only when he focuses on himself, on trying to understand his past and be a better, healthier person physically and mentally that he finds peace and a love with Sharon that will finally fill that hole. I think that is really quite beautiful, and I really wish there had been a greater focus on this over the years. Again, yet another missed opportunity.  And of course, great little chuckle when Thorn said of Provenza, “You’re cynical and tough” leaving out the smart, much to his chagrin.

Lt. I told you what I want done, do I really have to phrase this as an order?” Sharon is stepping it up and taking control, letting Provenza know that she is willing to pull rank if needs be. Provenza seems surprised, as Sharon has been so careful with him. However, I think he needed that. For him to accept his role and where he stands in the pecking order he needs her to step in and completely take control as his boss.

“I am also considering the message that you send by turning away an abandoned boy. Is that the message you want our congregation to follow?” “I am concerned with the safety of my other students.” “And what about their souls? Do you worry that they hear one thing at mass and another thing at school?” Sharon lives her faith. She does not play lip service to it, does not sit at church on Sunday playing at being pious then turn around and live a different life Monday-Saturday. She is not a hypocrite and this priest is behaving like a hypocrite by accepting the behavior of three St. Joseph boys but not the behavior of the new kid, Rusty, and by preaching about helping the poor and downtrodden but being so willing to expel Rusty. This scene also showed us that, while Sharon’s faith is an important part of her life, she not a meek follower. She is willing to stand toe to toe with a priest and call him out on his behavior—even shaming him by standing up for being a better Christian.

I love Sharon in this scene, but I also think it was important for Rusty. He thought for sure Sharon would accept everything the priest said at face value and take his side. Instead, she stood up for him and made sure he got fair treatment. I doubt anyone has ever stood up for Rusty like that before.  But then as soon as the door shuts, the table is turned and the smug look quickly disappears from Rusty’s face. While Sharon stood up for Rusty for telling the truth and for him to receive the same fair treatment the other boys were receiving that does not mean she condones his behavior. On the contrary. Violence is never the answer---she sees every day what happens when people allow violence to control their actions—and she knows Rusty was not just defending himself. He hurt those boys more than he needed to and she needs him to sit back and contemplate why he felt the need to hurt them so badly so this does not become a pattern in his life.

It was a good lesson for Rusty. Sharon has his back when he is right, but she also has very clear boundaries and will not put up with it when he is in the wrong. She is teaching him the difference between right and wrong, something that has not been a part of his life before.

“While I’m gone in addition to considering your future at St. Joseph’s you could think about the word civility and if it might be proper to treat me with the same respect that I’m showing you.” Yet another lesson in teaching Rusty the golden rule-- that he should treat people the way he wants to be treated. Again, this something that Sharon lives. She treats the people in her life and at work with respect and dignity so Rusty is not just hearing her telling him this, he sees it modeled in her behavior with him and with others.

“So, are you just not talking to me on purpose or what?” “I try to avoid conversation with people who can’t treat me as respectfully as I treat them.” Sharon is really driving this point home. It is obviously very important to her as a mother and as a person. Not speaking to him really got Rusty’s attention and he begins to open up to her, telling her how hard it was to listen to the other kids talk about their families. Sharon understands how hard it is to be the new kid, she’s going through some of that at work right now, but tells him that no matter what school she sends him to he will always be the new kid.

“No matter where you go, no matter when, you’ll never be a stranger to me. I’ll always know you.” “Whether I like it or not?” “That’s right buster, whether you like it or not.” Rusty has asked Sharon for a deal. He knows he is not going to stay with her and he would just like 30 days’ notice before he has to leave.  It has become apparent that he is actively pushing people away so he doesn’t get attached—which was probably behind his over the top reaction at school—because he knows he isn’t going to stay.  The 30-day request shows us that despite his tough stance, he is growing attached to Sharon and it will be hard for him to leave her. But Sharon is telling him that no matter when he leaves, now or well into the future, he will always mean something to her, he will never be a stranger to her. To a boy who was abandoned by his own mother this really means something to him.

The first time I watched this episode I wondered about the blue sweater zipped to the chin and the weird ponytail. It was a strange and rather jarring look for Sharon—her messy up-do in a future episode was much more attractive. But later, I can’t remember if it was in a James Duff Facebook chat or in one of Mary’s WWSRD podcasts, but someone—maybe Greg Lavoie-- said that they had Sharon zipped up to the chin to show that she was mindful of the fact that she had an impressionable young teenage boy living with her and hadn’t yet developed that mother/son bond where she could be more casual in her appearance with him. By season 2, Rusty was waking her up in her bed and she was walking around in her nightie so we got that slow progression.

I liked some of the humor in this episode—Thorn was funny and was useful in helping us see Provenza‘s mindset right now. But best of all I loved the greater insight into Sharon’s religion and Andy’s personal history and I loved all the mothership scenes, especially the first one.

[randomrichards]

MOVIES (THAT MIGHT BE) WORTH CHECKING OUT IN JANUARY 2020:

January 3:

THE GRUDGE

We begin with an attempted reboot of the hit horror flick based on another hit horror film.

Based on the Japanese import Ju-On, the film centres around a curse born from a fit of anger that attacks anyone who dares to enter a house. The pale boy ghost and the contorted woman became instantly iconic, especially when they made that crackling sound. Of course, people in North America are more likely to recognize its remake The Grudge. While not on the same level as its predecessor, the American was still a hit. It has become so iconic that there was a crossover movie where it faces off against the ghost from Ringu.

This time, the target is Peter Spencer (John Cho), a real estate agent who intended to sell a house not realizing it contained the title curse. Believing a homicide occurred, Spencer calls on Detective Muldoon (Andrea Risborough) to investigate. But they fail to realize the curse inside dooms all who enter it with a violent and it’s coming for them.

Here’s another of a long list of Horror remakes Hollywood has been peddling in the last decade. For every good one (It, Child’s Play), there are three times as many failures (the recent ones being Pet Semetary and Black Christmas). I’m not having much hope for this one. It can still be good, but it needs a director with as creative a vision as Takashi Shimizu’s.

THREE CHRISTS

Based on The Three Christs of Ypsilanti by Milton Rokeach, Three Christs tells the real-life experiment involving three men who claim to be a certain savior.

In Michigan’s Ypsilanti State Hospital in 1959, Dr. Alan Stone (Richard Gere) conducts a revolutionary experiment where he brings together three men (Peter Dinklage, Walton Goggins and Bradley Whitford) who each claim to be Jesus Christ. He hopes to use this experiment to force them to confront their delusions. It would certainly be preferable to electroshock therapy.

A real-life story like this comes with a lot of potential. But with the director of Fried Green Tomatoes helming this project, it looks like this will be a typical biopic. This is a shame with 4 great actors working together.

January 10:

1917

Sam Mendes, the director of American Beauty and Skyfall, takes us back to World War One and hopes to enter the Oscar Race with his latest war movie 1917.

Generla Erinmore (Colin Firth) tasks young British soldiers Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Schofield (George MacKay) with a difficult mission. 1,600 of their fellow soldiers are heading into a fatal trap and the two soldiers must deliver a message calling off the raid before tomorrow morning. And one of them is Blake’s brother. Racing against time, Blake and Schofield are forced to rush through enemy territory to deliver the message on time. Benedict Cumberbatch also

The film is already garnering high praise for its gripping suspense and graceful camera. It’s already garnering nominations at the Golden Globe Awards for Best Dramatic Motion Picture, Best Director and Best Original Score. It’s especially getting praise is how it makes the film look like one long camera shot following the two leads through their mission.

CHHAPAAK

All the way from India is a film inspired by real life acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal.

This film looks at Malti (Deepika Padukone), a woman horribly scared after an acid attack. The film follows her through her physical treatment and eventual trial. It looks like the core of the film will be her journey of emotional healing, regaining her self-worth with the help of loved ones.

Unless you know films that show Bollywood movies, I suspect this film will be hard to find for many people. Kind of a shame

JUST MERCY

Writer/Director Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12) brings ups the real-life story of a lawyer who battled systemic racism to free an innocent man.

Harvard graduate Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) heads to 1980s Alabama to assist advocate Eva Ansley (Brie Larson) to defend those wrongfully convicted. His first and most important case is Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), who was sentenced to death for the notorious murder of an 18-year-old girl despite evidence proving his innocence including a group of people who could vouch for him.

As Stevenson works prove McMillian’s innocence and those of other death row inmates, he faces up against an uncaring political maneuvers and systemic racism.  But neither he nor Ansley will let this stop them.

Audiences love and underdog story and this one is sure to satisfy, especially with Jordan, Larson and Foxx starring in the film. It’s also sure to offer some catharsis for those frustrated with current systemic racism. But this could by a typical biopic forgotten by the end of the year.

January 17:

BAD BOYS FOR LIFE

I’m going to be brief because I don’t think we’re going to get anything special from this movie. This film is pretty much a checkmark of every plot element you see in every Buddy Cop movie. Cop considering retiring. Check. One last job? Check. Training arrogant young upstarts? Check. A forever disapproving superior throwing a tantrum of our heroes. Check. It doesn’t matter how flashy the trailer is, a cliché is a cliché.

But then again, the original two film were also piling of buddy cop clichés. The only thing they had going for them was Will Smith’s charisma and Martin Lawrence’s over the top delivery. Only the second movie was memorable thanks to some well shot, over the top action scenes. But I highly doubt this one will be memorable when Michael Bay has backed out of the film.

We don’t really need another Bad Boys movie, especially when we have the Fast and Furious series and the John Wick movies.

DOLITTLE

The famous physician who can talk to animals returns in a new reboot. This time the Doc is played by Robert Downey Jr, fresh from retiring his iconic role of Tony Stark after 10 years. It also looks like it will be going back to its roots as a fantasy story set in the Victorian era. There’s not much plot summary to go on, but judging by the trailer, it will have him setting sail on an adventure alongside his animal friends. At the core of the film seems to be his friendship with two kills. Also, among the cast are Jessie Buckley as Queen Victoria and Antonio Banderas as a pirate.

There is an all-star cast voicing the animals, including Tom Holland, Emma Thompson, Ralph Fiennes and Rami Malek just to name a few.

This film seems to rest its shoulders on Robert Downey Jr, hoping his charm will do for Dr. Doolittle what he did for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But the film lives and dies on writer/director Stephen Gaghan, who is an unusual choice for a family fantasy considering that his resume consists of gritty war movies like Syriana, Traffic and Rules Engagement and crime drama tv shows like The Practice and NYPD Blue. He’s even written for the video game Call of Duty: Ghosts. It’s strange that someone with this resume would be chosen to reboot this franchise. It’s especially risky considering the original attempts to adapt Hugh Lofting books for the big screen. But if Martin Scorsese can make Hugo, there’s a chance Gaghan can make Dolittle work

The first one was a musical that tried to bank on the Sound of Music’s success but was an epic flop. It didn’t help that lead actor Rex Harrison was a notoriously difficult drunk who couldn’t sing. In fact, his behind the scenes shenanigans were way more interesting than the actual movie as proved by Mark Harris’ non-fiction book Pictures at a Revolution. Decades later, 20th Century Fox reboots the franchise was a hit thanks to Eddie Murphy as the title character and a variety of comedic voice actors (especially Albert Brooks, Chris Rock and Norm McDonald) voices the animals. No matter the quality, there’s a weight of nostalgia for both movies with many people growing up with these movies. This film will face the challenge of pushing past the nostalgia.

WEATHERING WITH YOU

From beloved anime writer/director Makoto Shinkai comes another romantic fantasy about two teens.

Teenage boy Hodoka (voiced by Kotaro Daigo) runs away from his isolated island home for Tokyo. Homeless and desperate, Hodoka takes a job as an assistant for journalist Keisuke Suga (Sun Oguri). His job involves finding “The Sunshine Girl”, a local teen girl who can control the weather. He soon finds her in Hina Amano (Nana Mori), a cheerful teen girl living with her brother. He is in awe with her power when she freezes the rain and love soon sparks. But messing with nature comes with a price and soon Hodoka and Hina are fighting to stay together.

Of all the movies on this list, this is the one I’m most excited to see. Once I saw his recent his Your Name, I was in pure awe. Never has a sunset looked more beautiful than in Shinkai’s anime. Every environment in Shinkai’s films enchant you with their vibrant colours and stunning details. Just as beautiful are his fantastical stories of young people growing up. At the core of each story is teens in love kept apart by unusual circumstances, whether it’s distance or time or even being in each other ‘s bodies.

This film’s already a major hit in Japan, which is very encouraging for anime fans.

January 24:

COLOR OUT OF SPACE

And now for something a little weird.

Nathan Gardner (Nicholas Cage) has moved his family to a remote farm to escape city life and live a life of peace and quiet. Then God was like “LOL No!” and sends an asteroid down their way. Then weird shit starts happening, most with colours mutating everything.

With a crew like this, you know you’re getting into some crazy shit. First, the film is based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, the inventor of cosmic horror and the man who gave us Cthulhu. Then there’s co-writer/director Richard Stanley, known for his odd genre flicks including Hardware and Dust Devil.[i] And then there’s Nicholas Cage, whose as well known for his scenery chewing Kabuki acting as his acclaimed Oscar-nominated roles. Last year, writer/director Panos Cosmatos found perfect use of Cage’s Kabuki acting in the ultra-stylized revenge masterpiece Mandy. Let’s be honest, the only types of films Cage’s Kabuki acting can work are either stylized, unintentionally hilarious or tongue-in-cheek. With the producers of Mandy working on this film, there’s high hopes it will be deliver on the stylized goods.

THE GENTLEMEN

After remaking Aladdin (and making lots of money in the process), director/writer Guy Ritchie returns to his roots with his latest English crime comedy The Gentlemen.

From what I can gather, the films about an American Pot Dealer (Matthew McConaughey) who plans to sell off his Empire in London when a young gang led by Dry Eye (Henry Golding) starts a drug war. There’s not much plot to go on, but with a Guy Ritchie movie, the plot will be way too complicated to explain. What is guaranteed is that there will be lots of oddball gangsters with weird names, hilarious and gruesome deaths and shit blowing up.

The film features an all-star cast including Charlie Hunnam, Colin Farrell and Hugh Grant continuing his streak of getting his groove back by playing against type.

So far, Ritchie hasn’t made a film that’s reached the same level as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or Snatch. For the most part, he has been unsuccessful stepping out of his comfort zone. Here’s hoping The Gentleman will bring his back on his A Game.

THE TURNING

This day concludes with a modern take of Henry James’ classic novella The Turn of the Screw.

Kate (Mackenzie Davis) is hired as a governess for care for her boss’s orphaned niece Flora (Brooklyn Prince) and nephew Miles (Finn Wolfhard). But as she cares for them in a secluded mansion, she comes to realize they are being haunted by hostile spirits. Can she protect them for what lies in the mansion?

The film has been remade multiple times, with the most acclaimed one being the 1961 classic The Innocents. This once changes it up by setting it in current times, with a notable scene of Miles creeping Kate out with drums. The film also gives some Conjuring vibes, especially with its cinematography. But it should be noted that similarity doesn’t equal copying and there could be some unique elements in this film.

There certainly is a good chance with director Floria Sigismondi will offer a unique vision. She has already directed episodes of stylized shows like The Handmaid’s Tale, Daredevil and American Gods, but she’s already well known for her stylized directing from her work in music videos. Since Marilyn Manson’s “The Beautiful People”, dilating, jittery camera work has become her trademark, working alongside artists including David Bowie, Bjork, Christina Aguilera, Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake (just to name a few).

January 27:

BEANPOLE

Here’s the film Russia hopes will be nominated for Best Foreign Language film.

Set in Leningrad in 1945, Beanpole centres on Masha (Vasilisa Perelygina) and Iya (Viktoria Miroshnichenko) struggling to trying to rebuild their lives in the ruins of a city demolished by war. At the core of film is the infertile Masha hiring Iya as a surrogate mother.

There’s not much go on, but with the film winning Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival, there’s good prospects for this film. It seems to be a character drama like Roma. Here’s hoping this film’s as quietly engaging as Alfonso Cuaron’s masterpiece.

January 31

THE TRAITOR

We conclude this with an Italian biopic about Tommaso Buscetta, the first Mafia Informant in 1980’s Sicily.

Tommaso (Pierfrancesco Favino) was a member of the Cosa Nostra. Then in 1983, half of his family is killed in a gang war. Now he intends to make them pay using the arm of the law. He knows the mob will do whatever it takes to stop him, but he’s more determined than ever. But as the trials continue, Tommaso will show the rabbit hole goes deeper than the law expected with political figures in the mafia’s pockets.

This is another film that may fall by the wayside, which is a shame because this film seems like a great biopic. It could certainly give overdue attention for director/co-writer Marco Bellocchio, who has remained a criminally overlooked director despite making acclaimed movies since the 1960s.

[i] And being fired from the Brando version of Island of Dr. Monroe.

[biofunmy]

Lana Wood, Natalie’s Little Sister, Has Plenty to Say

“How about no devils?” Lana Wood said on the phone recently, recounting a presentation she gave at CrimeCon in June.

Her sister, Natalie Wood, had left her first husband, Robert Wagner, after a marital betrayal, Lana says she told her. But Natalie decided, in 1972, to go back to him — because “sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.”

Nine years later, Natalie would die under suspicious circumstances. Her body was found floating off Catalina Island in California near a boat on which she, Mr. Wagner and Christopher Walken had spent the evening. Also on board was the skipper, Dennis Davern.

At the time, Ms. Wood’s death was ruled an accident and the case was closed.

But in 2011, the investigation was reopened by the Los Angeles Police Department after Mr. Davern said he heard Ms. Wood and Mr. Wagner arguing earlier in the evening. After re-evaluating the case details, the coroner changed the cause of Ms. Wood’s death to “drowning and other undetermined factors.”

Since then, more witnesses have emerged that have led the police to reclassify Ms. Wood’s death as “suspicious” and to consider Mr. Wagner, now 89, as “a person of interest.” The Los Angeles Police Department did not offer specifics about the witnesses’ identities or statements.

According to Ralph Hernandez, the lead homicide detective, Mr. Wagner has not talked to the police since 1981. “I think that Wagner holds the key,” Detective Hernandez said in a phone interview. “It’s really only up to him at this point.”

Whether Mr. Wagner can be charged with a crime isn’t clear. Because of the statute of limitations on lesser crimes, murder is the only one that could be considered, Detective Hernandez said.

At the CrimeCon presentation, in New Orleans, Ms. Wood stressed that though “there may be a statute of limitations on a crime, there is not one on the truth.” Detective Hernandez said that the revised coroner’s report states that Natalie appeared to be a victim of assault and battery, and that the coroner could not rule out that she had died before she hit the water. “Robert Wagner maintains her death was an accident. How was she accidentally assaulted?” Ms. Wood asked the crowd at CrimeCon.

A few months before, she sat for a steak salad and a long talk at a restaurant in Los Angeles, where she lives with her three grandchildren, whom she is raising with her son-in law. (Her daughter, Evan, died in 2017 of heart failure.)

“I think the truth about Natalie’s murder is very important to other women,” Ms. Wood said. As a veteran of Hollywood herself, she watched the #MeToo era unfold with excitement, tinged with weariness. Her advocacy for Natalie in the media for 38 years has left her particularly alert to men’s abuses.

Still a dazzler at 73, Lana was dressed smartly in black pants and black sweater, with an engaging manner. “You need to speak up to fraternal Hollywood,” she said, “and also understand the price that is paid for that type of life. Natalie paid dearly — with her life. Nothing was done about that.”

Natalie had always been the protective older sister to Lana, eight years younger. She left her entire wardrobe to Lana in her will: rooms full of the clothing she’d armed herself with for decades. Natalie subscribed to the notion that clothing was armor, especially in predatory Hollywood.

In a 2008 memoir, “Pieces of My Heart,” which portrays Lana in a largely unfavorable light, Mr. Wagner made an issue of her selling the clothing at a secondhand store. Lana said the will had stipulated that whatever she didn’t want should be sold.

From the late 1950s right up to before Natalie’s death in 1981, the Wood sisters could be seen arm in arm all around town, in high spirits and beautiful clothes. While Natalie expressed everything through the deep pools of her brown eyes, topping her outfits off with the perfect sunglasses, Lana’s most expressive feature was her voice. She became as adept at using it, both to sing and to stand up for herself.

“Natalie was always very careful to present herself as a movie star,” she said. “I simply didn’t care. I wore what I liked to.”

Natalie also left behind the suspicious circumstances surrounding her death, however, and now their roles are reversed. As Lana fielded texts from her granddaughter during lunch (“I always want to correct her grammar”), she continued: “Protecting Natalie, that’s what I really feel I have to do now. If it’s not me, it’s not going to happen.

“As far as the difference between us,” Lana said, “Natalie was very cautious about what she said. I never thought about that. It isn’t that I didn’t have a filter — I did — but if things go wrong, I tell someone about it.” Her eyes welled when she described her sister’s terror before a rare unscripted interview on “The Merv Griffin Show.” Lana told her to just be herself. Natalie replied, “‘I’m just going to pretend I’m you!’”

According to Detective Hernandez, Lana has been indispensable and credible.

“She is the one family member willing to cooperate in the investigation,” he said. “We work for the victim’s family. So we consider Lana Natalie Wood’s family and that’s who we’re working for, to try and find out the truth about what happened to her sister. The case is going to stay open until we find out the truth of what happened.”

Mr. Wagner’s publicist, Alan Nierob, declined to make his client available for comment on his relationship with Lana, or the case.

Lana is estranged from her nieces, Natasha Wagner and Courtney Gregson Wagner, but was contacted in January by Laurent Bouzereau, the director of an HBO documentary about Natalie Wood, which Natasha Wagner helped produce. Mr. Bouzereau asked her to participate, and Lana refused, writing a note to Mr. Bouzereau in which she asked him to let Natasha “know that I completely understand she also wishes to keep her pain and her family’s at a minimum.”

But as far as Lana is concerned, the notion that Natalie accidentally drowned after getting into a dinghy, alone, on a stormy night is preposterous. “Let’s be truthful about who she was and how she was,” she said. “I am not making judgments. I am not supposing. I’m not doing any of those things. I’m simply looking at facts. Natalie didn’t swim. Her fear of dark water was deeply ingrained.”

At CrimeCon Lana discussed another detail. “Natalie would not go anywhere not fully made-up, wearing something terrific,” she said. “She certainly would not get into a dinghy in her nightgown by herself. She would get dressed, put on full makeup and have Dennis Davern take her ashore to stay in a motel on Catalina, which is exactly what she did the night before, when she wanted to leave.”

In Her Shadow

The tale of Natalie and Lana Wood begins in post-World War II Los Angeles, where the sisters were led by their determined Russian immigrant mother, Maria, to the gates of Hollywood, to be raised almost entirely by the studio system there.

Natalie, the accommodating oldest child, rose to stardom beginning at age 5, while Lana’s first scene, as an infant alongside 8-year-old Natalie in “Driftwood,” went to the cutting-room floor. Lana would spend the coming years on Natalie’s movie sets traipsing after Maria and Natalie or left at home with her father, Nick Zakharenko, who preferred to drink and read surrounded by his portraits of the Romanovs.

In 1954, after Natalie had starred in “Rebel Without a Cause,” with Lana spending many nights on the set sleeping with a pillow and a blanket that Maria had packed as shoots ran late; after the terror of watching Natalie’s character raise her arms to signal the beginning of the race that would almost send James Dean’s character over the cliff; after all that, Natalie was summoned one night to an audition at a Los Angeles hotel.

She was 16 years old. When Natalie finally emerged, she was in hysterics, destroyed. She had been raped by another actor over twice her age, she told her mother and sister.

From her pillow and blanket in the back seat of the family car, Lana witnessed her mother hushing Natalie into secrecy. They filed no report.

Instead, Lana, said, Maria nudged Lana forward. Within the year, John Ford cast her along with Natalie and John Wayne in “The Searchers.’” From there Lana was rushed from role to role, her screen fathers flickering past her — Jack Lemmon, Charlton Heston, Walter Matthau. Maria waited in the wings just as she had done for Natalie: to be educated by tutors on set, provided by the studio, taught to bathe, dress and comport herself by studio wardrobe women, attending school only when it didn’t interfere.

But at 14, Lana ran away from home. She didn’t want to be groomed by Maria to follow Natalie’s yellow brick road, she said now, but rather to be a normal unscripted teenager. She turned to her sister for protection. Natalie was fierce. She threatened to never speak to Maria again if Lana was dragged to one more audition. And thus Lana was excused from Hollywood.

But her time there taught her a few lessons. Along with Natalie, Lana had come to feel the sheer joy of being a glorious clotheshorse out and about: trying this on and that, stepping through doors exhilarated by a drape of sumptuous fabric caressing her shoulders, encircling her hips.

“I love a terrific jacket,” Lana said. “I just counted how many I have two weeks ago. I have 79 of them!” Her favorite designers are Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen. “Because there’s always something lovely there, but then there’s a little edge too.”

In 1962, Lana was 16, living on her own in an apartment in Westwood, spending her weekends at Natalie’s, where her older sister was living with Warren Beatty. If Mr. Beatty stepped out of line, Lana would call him on it pronto, she said.

In the afternoons after school, Lana got a job as a model and shop girl at the clothing boutique Jax, where she was surrounded not only by smart clothing but also a women’s wear credo so forward-thinking it might as well have been another planet.

Jax was owned by the former Los Angeles Angels shortstop Jack Hanson. He left baseball to reinvent sportswear for women, advancing the cigarette pant by moving the zipper from the side to the back — not just for comfort but to flatter the rear end. The garment became a staple for Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy.

Mr. Hanson teamed up with the avant-garde designer Rudi Gernreich, who had removed the boning in women’s bathing suits in the 1950s to free the body, because, as he wrote in his design manifesto, “the only respect you can give to a woman is to make her a human being, a totally emancipated women.”

Mr. Gernreich was out to “to cure society of its sexual hangups,” designing clothing for women to “take our minds off how we look and concentrate on really important matters in the world.” Lana was enthralled.

She modeled for a year at Jax, while picking clothes up off the floor for clients like Susan Hayward. Then one day Steve McQueen’s wife, Neile, popped in to the store and convinced Lana it was time to get back to acting.

But Lana feared the burdens of celebrity. “I wasn’t acting to become anything other than an actor,” she said. “That was it! I love getting the script. I love doing the part, but when they say ‘it’s a wrap’ at the end of the day, I want to just go wherever it is I want to go.”

She recalled marching downtown and getting herself “informally deputized’ by the county’s animal commissioner, “so I could keep an eye on the shelters and come up with a plan to improve them.”

Another thing Lana loved to do was go home and write. (Putnam published her memoir, “Natalie,” in 1984. In his own memoir, Mr. Wagner called it “ridiculous.”)

At 18 Lana took a different tack, becoming one of Judy Garland’s protectors while the star was on tour in Australia. “It was a major responsibility,” she writes in “Natalie”: “I was the only other female in her entourage of six. I was pretty much left to handle Judy alone. They would send me to her room when she wasn’t there and say go through all her clothing, anything that’s sharp, that she could hurt herself with — remove! All the things I’d heard about her, that she was pathologically insecure, unstable and one of the most delightful people you’d ever want to know were absolutely true.” And yet, she writes:” “I had never seen her perform and was captured by her magic.”

That magical motion of singing, that lifting of the spirit, was something Lana had always loved to do herself and still does. “I sing all the time, everywhere,” she said during lunch. “When I was in high school, I remember singing an entire song in a classroom unbidden. I walked in singing it. The bell rang. I didn’t care. I wasn’t done, so I completed the song.”

When she arrived in 1965 on the director Mark Rydell’s set of “The Long Hot Summer,” Lana recalled, “he took one look at me and said, ‘What can I get for you?’ I said a tambourine. So, in he came the next morning with a tambourine. I took it everywhere I went. Sometimes I’d play it in the car.”

On Tuesday nights Lana would use it onstage while singing with the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, an act of the soon-to-be-renowned producer Michael Lloyd.

“The first thing you need to know about Lana is she’s just a great girl,” Mr. Lloyd said in a phone interview. “Period. She had a great voice. It’s unique, a lot of personality and you know she put it all out there. I should’ve cut it!”

‘You’re Leaving Ripples’

By the time Lana was 19, she was starring with Mia Farrow and Ryan O’Neal in “Peyton Place;” shot by Federico Fellini’s photographer with a leopard by her side — and, she said, begged by Sergio Leone to relocate to Rome and sign a contract with him; pursued by Alain Delon across the continents; nagged by Dennis Hopper to accept a lead role in “Easy Rider.”

“Oh boy! I wanted none of that!” she said.

It wasn’t long before the call came from Playboy asking her to pose. She wore her boyfriend’s cat in her lap in one shot and her bridesmaid’s dress from Natalie’s wedding in another, assuring her sister that the photos were very tasteful. “I’m sure they’re absolutely yummy,” Natalie said.

“I said to myself, ‘Why did I do semi-nudes?’” Lana said. “I’m saying something to the world that I don’t want to say. ‘Look at me! I’m so pretty,’ is not what I want to say to the world!”

She tracked down Hugh Hefner’s home phone number and asked him to kill the photos. “We finally got down to talking about the poetry that I was writing and he said, ‘Well, could we publish that along with the photos?’” Lana recalled. “I said O.K.! That would be O.K.”

Next she was cast as a Bond girl, Plenty O’Toole, alongside Sean Connery in “Diamonds Are Forever.”

“I wanted my Bond Girl to be liked,” Lana said. “I want to be liked with my flaws because that’s the one thing that means something to me. Perfection is who you are, whoever that is. That’s your perfection.”

Her costume designer was Donfeld, who also did the original “Wonder Woman” and gave her an “emotional class” in the character. In Plenty’s last scene, she is thrown through a high hotel window into a swimming pool below, which Lana accomplished without a stunt double, she said, plummeting from a towering platform on full display for an enormous crowd of gamblers on the Vegas Strip, wearing less than she had in Playboy.

“When you are playing a character, the first thing that happens is you are affected by the clothing,” Lana said. “It’s very powerful. Your entire persona changes for that period of time. It carries you over, and it can follow you into your personal life.”

Modeling jobs for designers filled gaps between acting. In 1968 Bob Mackie hired Lana to walk snaking through dozens of tables for his packed “best sellers” luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, modeling gowns he had designed for Judy Garland.

Then there was the renowned photographer Guy Webster, who often shot from his skateboard. “Guy liked to undo my hair by spritzing me with a water bottle to return me to my natural look,” Lana said. One afternoon, after a shoot in the late ’60s, a beautiful woman with long dark hair appeared.

“She’s a witch,” Mr. Webster told her.

“Really?”

“Yes, she is — just let her stand with you for a little while.”

“So I stood there next to her,” Lana said, “and all of a sudden tears were streaming down her cheeks. She walked away from me. Guy went and talked to her then came back and said, ‘She sees you surrounded by death.’”

The morning that Natalie’s body was found adrift off Catalina Island, Lana writes in her memoir, “I went upstairs and washed my hair in the bathroom sink. I hadn’t used the sink for this purpose for many years, not since Natalie and I were children.”

She later opened a condolence note from Donfeld: a sketch of a dress he had designed for Natalie for her final film, “Brainstorm.” On the back Donfeld had written, “Natalie thought you hung the moon.”

After lunch, outside the restaurant, with a light rain misting the air, Lana appeared petite even in her black high-heeled boots. Her grandson texted to ask if she was on her way home yet and why she had picked a restaurant — the Palm — so far from the house.

“No matter what it is. I talk to my grandkids all the time when they say they don’t want to do this or that, that it’s not important. I say, ‘You don’t understand that even though you feel like a pebble, you’re leaving ripples and you don’t know where those ripples will go and you at least must try and do something!’”

Lana said she has started a new memoir.

“I want to leave behind something that helps something,” she said. “I don’t care how small it is as long as I’ve accomplished something that might someday make a difference. I don’t want to be thought of as, ‘Oh my, wasn’t she pretty.’ No. No.”

Valeriya Safronova contributed reporting.

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Best Amazon Prime TV shows (May 2019): the best series to watch this month

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Best Amazon Prime TV shows (May 2019): the best series to watch this month

Amazon Prime Video is on a roll. The streaming service adds exclusive TV shows and fresh new episodes to its TV catalogue every week. Although that means you've always got plenty of old favourites and new series to binge on, it means it can be tricky to choose which one to pick next. But this list is here to help make that choice a little bit easier. 

Amazon Prime Video is part of the Amazon Prime membership, which means a lot more than just super fast deliveries these days. 

For starters, there’s Prime Music, Audible freebies, the Kindle Lending Library, lots of photos storage and the chance to stream great movies and TV shows through Prime Video, which is Amazon’s answer to an on-demand streaming service. 

Although Amazon has a huge back catalogue on its Prime Video service, there are lots of mediocre TV options too, which might fool you into thinking they’d be worthy of a watch, as well as lots of truly terrible ones, which we'd prefer you didn't waste your time on at all.

We've collected together a huge selection of TV shows for you to choose from, including shiny new series through to Amazon's own original shows. 

In our guide you'll discover our pick of the best Amazon Prime TV shows that are currently on offer. We have options for fans of thrillers, jaw-dropping sci-fi, comedy lovers and those who enjoy nothing more than a fantasy police drama. 

Coming Soon: Although this list is full of great TV shows, there are always some tantalising new series on the horizon that we can't wait to watch. You'll have to wait until the very end of May (May 31, to be exact) but this spring is all about Good Omens, the TV show adaptation of the magical book from the fantastical minds of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. This month also welcomes the darkly funny season 2 of Fleabag (May 17), as well as the third season of Sneaky Pete (May 10). 

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Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial

Amazon has been developing and creating titles itself over the past few years, which are called Amazon Originals or Amazon Original Series.

These homegrown TV shows are arguably some of the best that the Amazon Prime Video service has to offer (think The Tick and Transparent), which you can watch instantly when you have Amazon Prime access. There are many more shows you can watch through Amazon too of course, but some of these have to be purchased in order for you to start streaming. 

We'll be keeping this list constantly updated – if any paid shows become free that we feel need to be included, they'll be added too. Scroll through to see our picks that we've divided up into the following categories: drama, comedy and thriller.

If you can only watch one…

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The Tick

The Tick is a superhero TV show with a difference. It's chock full of brightly-coloured heroes, sarcastic villains, excellent stories and fantastic wordplay. Unlike the sagas in Marvel movies, the heroes and villains in The Tick feel like they belong to our world. They're messy, funny and make lots of terrible decisions. Luckily, the show was renewed for a second season, which manages to be even smarter, slicker and more heartwarming than the first, with noteworthy performances from Peter Serafinowicz and Griffin Newman in the lead roles as The Tick and, erm, Arthur. 

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 2

Check out our in-depth Amazon Prime Video reviewFancy a film? Then our best Amazon Prime movies feature is for youWant to see what the rival is doing? Then check out best Netflix TV showsThese are the best movies on Netflix UK

Amazon Prime or Netflix? Check out our comparison video below!

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Absentia 

If you've had a Stana Katic shaped hole in your life since Castle ended in 2016, you'll be glad to know she's starring in a brand new series on Amazon Prime. Katic takes up the role of FBI agent Emily Byrne who, six years after being declared dead, returns to the world and has to try and piece her life and memory back together. 

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 1

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New Season Added: The Expanse

Arguably the best sci-fi show since Battlestar Galatica, The Expanse is based on the series of novels by James S. A. Corey, the pen name of authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. It's set in a future where humans have colonised most of the solar system, but there are big divisions between the occupants of Earth, Mars and 'Belters', who reside on space stations beyond the asteroid belt. It's full of politics, heart-wrenching emotional stories and some of the most breath-taking scenes of outer space we've ever seen. If you're a fan of sci-fi, you'll love this.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 3

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Alias

US action series Alias ran for five seasons between 2001 and 2006 and fans will be happy to hear every single episode is available to stream on Amazon Prime Instant Video right this instant! Created by J. J. Abrams, the TV show stars Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow, a double agent who is working for the CIA, but also posing as an operative for an organisation called SD-6, which is a big criminal and espionage network.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 5

Update: Alias is still available via Amazon Prime Video, but it's no longer free. You'll have to pay £2.49 per episode, or buy a whole season for £13.99.

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Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan

The long-awaited latest re-imagining of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan is now available on Amazon Prime, with the fantastic John Krasinski (best known for his role in the US version of The Office) playing CIA analyst Ryan. The show has received mostly positive reviews and it's definitely worth giving the first few episodes a watch, particularly if you're a fan of political dramas, the Jack Ryan stories or Krasinski. 

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 1

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Ray Donovan

Set in LA, Ray Donovan is a drama about a guy called, you guessed it, Ray Donovan, who is a fixer for a top law firm in the city. That means he gets caught up in all kinds of drama, like threats, bribes and every other kind of shady activity you can imagine. 

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 6

Update: Ray Donovan is still available via Amazon Prime Video, but it's no longer free. You'll have to pay £2.49 per episode, or buy a whole season for £13.99.

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New Season Added: American Gods

Based on the novel by Neil Gaiman and brought to the screen by the ever-excellent Bryan Fuller, American Gods is an existential look at what would happen if gods were to walk the earth. 

Starring Ricky Whittle (who has made the transition from Hollyoaks to Hollywood with ease) and Ian McShane, the show is both bizarre and brazen, cultish and controversial. It may take a while to figure out just what the hell is going on, but this is one smart, celestial slice of entertainment that's already got us hooked. 

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 2

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Animal Kingdom

Looking for a new crime drama to get stuck into? Animal Kingdom could be what you're looking for. The show follows teenager J Cody who moves in with extended relatives in Southern California after the death of his mother. Far from being boring, Cody finds his relatives live a wild life of excess and it's all funded by crime.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 3 

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Black Sails

Johnny Depp may have spent the latter half of his career convincing the world that pirates all look, smell and talk like a Rolling Stone but we prefer Black Sails' interpretation. Exclusive to Amazon Prime, Black Sails treats the pirate legend with a touch more reality and this is pretty much all down to Shakespearean thesp Toby Stephens.

Number of seasons on Amazon Prime: 4

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New Season Added: Bosch

With 20-something novels to mine for source material, Bosch is a character that was always destined for the small screen. Created by Michael Connelly but brilliantly brought to life by actor Titus Welliver, the series follows the exploits of LA Homicide detective Harry Bosch and features enough grit to pave the longest of driveways.

This is no surprise – the series has been created by Eric Overmyer, who was part of the alumni that created The Wire. Bosch is another show that has been put together by Amazon Studios – proving that streaming services are becoming just as powerful as the HBOs of the world when it comes to producing compelling drama.

Bosch Season 5 has now landed on Amazon Prime, continuing the saga of Harry Bosch and it comes with a nice uplift in quality too, building season upon season to become one of our favourite shows on Prime at the moment. 

Number of seasons on Amazon Prime: 5

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Goliath

Billy Bob Thornton stars as a washed-up lawyer looking for a big break who stumbles on to a big case that may well give him the solace he needs. Made by David E Kelly who loves a bit of courtroom drama, having already created Boston Legal, The Practice and Ally McBeal, the show works well as a standalone series but there's talk that it may get a second season. Goliath is part of Amazon's Original series of TV shows.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 2

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The Good Fight

If you were a fan of US legal and political drama The Good Wife, then you're going to love The Good Fight. It's set one year after the events of the final episode of the The Good Wife and this time shifts the focus of the story to Diane Lockhart.

Season one has been a success and now the second season is available to stream via Amazon, but unfortunately it's not free. But while you either wait for it to become free (it may take a while) or wait to decide whether it's worth it, catch up on the first season now to help you make your mind up.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 3 (The 3rd season is available, but you'll have to pay for it.)

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Hand of God

Last seen in Sons of Anarchy, Ron Perlman has moved from the mad world of biker gangs into the stranger world of law. Perlman plays a vice-riddled barrister who, after suffering a breakdown, starts to believe he is a messenger from god.

The full first season for Hand of God arrived on Amazon Prime, after a successful pilot. A second season is also available, which will sadly be the last as Amazon has decided to not renew the show. This is a shame as it may not be a light-hearted ride – but it is one drama that takes dark turn after dark turn and is all the better for it.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 2

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Hell on Wheels

Hell on Wheels sounds like it should be a Sons of Anarchy rival, about motorcycle gangs or the like. But it’s actually centred on the construction of the US’s First Transcontinental Railroad. The first season begins soon after the assassination of President Lincoln and from there the show plays out like a western, showing myriad sides of the railway being built – from slaves to their owners, to the money me behind the scheme. It’s a show that’s been a massive hit for AMC – falling just behind The Walking Dead in their ratings for original shows.

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 5

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The Last Tycoon

F Scott Fitzgerald may be known for The Great Gatsby and Tender Is The Night but The Last Tycoon – his last and unfinished novel – is perhaps his most ambitious piece of work. It peels away the glitz and glamour of Hollywood in the '30s to show a time when backstabbing was the norm, fascism was on the rise and everyone had an unbelievable amount of money. Kelsey Grammer is superb as movie mogul Pat Brady, while Matt Bomer is also great as Monroe Stahr, the up and coming film exec who wants to make it big. The Last Tycoon is occasionally flawed but it's a sumptuous watch.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 1

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The Looming Tower

The 8th episode of The Looming Tower are now available on Amazon Prime Video, but despite the fact there still aren't many compared to most TV shows, it hasn't stopped this tale of threat and politics from proving to be a hit. Based on the book by the same name, it's about the unease around Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden in the 1990s, as well as the rivalry between the CIA and FBI.

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 1

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Downton Abbey

Like watching fictional posh people live their lives in early-twentieth century opulence? You're not alone – millions of people tuned in to Downton Abbey during its TV run, and it's now available to stream in its entirety on Amazon Prime Video.

Following the trials and tribulations of the Crawley family on the titular Downton Abbey estate, it's a kitchen sink drama of sorts – except all the cutlery is made of silver, and it's an army of servants doing the washing up. 

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 7

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Masters Of Sex

Yes, Masters Of Sex could have ended up being a Mad Men rip-off when it first arrived in 2013 but thanks to the brilliance of Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan the show soon elevated above being a copycat.

Sheen is Dr William Masters, a fertility expert who turns his hand to researching the world of sex. Turns out researching sex means having a lot of it, which would all be rather gratuitous if it wasn't wrapped in some of the most intelligent script work around.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 2

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Outlander

Game of Thrones with kilts and time travel, Outlander was a solid show in its first season – by the second it was a great one. Based on the eight-book series by Diana Gabaldon, Outlander is about Claire Randall, a nurse who is transported from 1945 to 1743, where she meets a Scottish outlaw and a simmering romance ensues. Given it’s shot in the Scottish highlands, the show looks fantastic, is well acted and should be your next binge watch.

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 4

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The Path

Aaron Paul is back on TV, thanks to The Path. And while his role might not be as enticing as Jesse in Breaking Bad, The Path is decent enough. Revolving around the Meyerist movement, and its ‘not a cult / definitely a cult' cult, the show is a gripping and beautifully shot look at what happens when people truly believe.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 3

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Rogue

Now in its fourth season, Rogue has matured into a great crime drama. While it may not be the Sopranos in its scope, it has a realness to it that makes the violence that's shown on the screen hit home hard. Thandie Newton stars a Grace Travis, an undercover detective who is trying to balance being a wife and mother with the illicit affair of a crime boss. Gritty stuff.

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 4

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Sneaky Pete

Sneaky Pete's plot maybe a little cliche – a con man assumes the identity of someone else to try and make a new break in the world – but Giovanni Ribisi is superb as Marius, the titular character and there's plenty of intrigue to keep you glued to this new Amazon Original. 

Interestingly, the show is co-created by Bryan Cranston which makes him the streaming king, given he's done so well with Breaking Bad on Netflix. Don't expect Sneaky Pete to be as intense as Breaking Bad – it's a crime caper, yes, but it doesn't take itself too seriously. 

The third season of the show is coming on May 10, 2019. 

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 2

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Startup

Not content with becoming a Hobbit, starring in the Marvel universe or playing Dr Watson, Martin Freeman goes back to his TV roots for Startup – a great look at what happens when a bunch of tech entrepreneurs create something that is much bigger than they ever thought it would be. It may occasionally be too gritty for its own good, but it's great to see Freeman hamming it up as the big bad. 

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 3

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UnREAL

UnREAL focuses on the fictional goings-on behind the scenes of a fictional reality show. It's a show that holds a broken mirror up to the vacuous and plentiful reality shows that litter TV channels at the moment and actually goes into some rather dark territory. Yes, it's melodramatic and will wave numerous moral flags at you while you are watching it, but it's nonetheless engrossing television.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 4

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Transparent

Anything Netflix can do, Amazon Prime can do better it seems, especially when it comes to winning a Golden Globe. Netflix may have made history by being the first streaming service to win a Golden Globe, courtesy of the acting talents of Kevin Spacey in House of Cards, but Amazon went and topped this by winning the Best TV Show prize in 2014 for Transparent.

It was much deserved. Transparent is everything you want in a TV show. It's heartwarming, funny and packs a real punch about a subject that doesn't get enough attention: transgenderism. Jeffrey Tambor's Maura Pfefferman is a television character we hope will be around for a long time.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 4

Comedy

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Fresh Off the Boat

The critically acclaimed series based on the memoirs of chef and food personality Eddie Huang is back for a fourth series. The show follows the hip-hop obsessed Eddie and his family as they reconcile their Taiwanese roots with their new life in Florida, where they have moved to open a cowboy-themed restaurant. 

Funny and heartwarming, Fresh Off the Boat is not only totally binge-able, but it also represents an important milestone in the portrayal of Asian-American families on the small screen. 

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 4

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Black-ish

Black-ish is brilliant. Not brilliant-ish, but brilliant. It's made by two Nightly Show writers and is about adman Andre, who thinks his kids aren't, er, black enough because they've lived in the very white suburbs all their life. This means a (car)crash course in black culture ensues. Two seasons of the show are on Amazon Prime and it's well worth a watch, filled with the warm humour ABC has brought to the world with the likes of Modern Family and The Goldbergs.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 4

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Casual

The final eight episode season of Casual is now available on Amazon Prime. It's about a newly divorced single mother who lives with her brother and daughter. The comedy drama is about dating, romance, families and all kinds of other modern dramas with a funny, and sometimes dark, twist. It's received a fair bit of critical acclaim over the years, but won't be returning for a fifth season. So enjoy it while you can!

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 4

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Catastrophe

From the minds of Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney comes one of the funniest, most well-written sitcom in years. The plot is slight: a one-night stand turns into a relationship once Sharon announces she is pregnant. But the series contains some of the most cut-to-the-bone humour seen on TV. Combine this with a nice slab of pathos – nestled among many a sex joke – and what you have is a modern classic.

The third series, which recently aired on Channel 4, is now available on Amazon Prime Video – it features the last ever performance from the imitable Carrie Fisher.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 3

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Comrade Detective

Comrade Detective is a weird gem on Amazon. Starring Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the show is a parody of gritty American buddy cop shows and Communist Propaganda from the Cold War.

It's an unusual combination, but it works. Each episode is presented as though it's a remastered real episode of a lost Romanian Communist Propaganda series from the 80s which was used to entertain and promote Communist ideals. The entire show was filmed in Romania with Romanian actors and then dubbed over by Tatum and Gordon-Levitt.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 1

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New Season Added: The Tick

We like a dark twist on the superhero genre as much as the next person, and The Tick delivers it: it's about an accountant with mental health issues, who may or may not be a superhero – it could all be in his head. Peter Serafinowicz is the eponymous Tick, and despite that rather sombre-sounding plot outline, this is a black and surreal comedy worth seeking out.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 2

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The Grand Tour

Clarkson, Hammond and the other one are back for Grand Tour: Season 2. Well, we kind of knew that they would be as they all have massive contracts that mean we will be seeing quite a few seasons of the Definitely Not Top Gear But Quite A Bit Like Top Gear show. This season sees Clarkson drive a fast car, Hammond drive a faster car and nearly die, and the other one drive a fast car considerably slower than the rest. If you enjoy watching middle aged men burn rubber in the middle of the desert, like a scene out of Mad Max: Fury Road, then this is for you. And if we haven't quite convinced you yet – Gizmodo offered up this quote about the show: "Some men doing stuff for no clearly defined reason." Lovely stuff. 

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 3 (new episodes weekly)

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I Love Dick

Graduating from Amazon Originals pilot to fully fledged TV show, I Love Dick is a great subversive watch. The show stars Kevin Bacon and is based on the celebrated book that looks at a married couple who are having marriage issues and their relationship with college professor, Dick. Bacon is on top form as the charismatic Dick and the show's multiple POV storytelling (Rashomon style) works well.

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video TV: 1

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New Season Added: The Last Man On Earth

Not many people can find the funny in the post-apocalypse, but Will Forte has managed it with The Last Man On Earth. He writes and stars in this comedy where he is the only survivor on earth after a virus kills everyone else. The cast is brilliant, with the likes of January Jones and Kristen Wiig join him on his adventures and there’s a smattering of decent cameos too – including Will Ferrell and Jon Hamm in season 3. 

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 4

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The League

Created by Jeff and Jackie Schaffer and starring Mark Duplass, The League is very much a US focused comedy – based around a group of friends in an American Fantasy Football league – but don’t let that put you off as it’s nearly always hilarious. The lengths the group go to to win The Shiva – the league trophy – is great to watch, as is there balancing of trying to win week in week out with their normal lives. All seven seasons of the show are available on Prime Video. 

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 7

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The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

A new series from Gilmore Girls creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel tells the story of 1950s Jewish housewife Miriam Maisel. After her husband confesses he's been having an affair, Midge drunkenly gets on stage at a comedy club and discovers that she's utterly hilarious. In a time when women aren't encouraged to be publicly funny, Midge pursues her new-found comedic talent in the male-dominated stand up comedy world. 

Seasons to watch on Amazon Prime: 2

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Mad Dogs

The UK version of Mad Dogs was a breath of fresh air when it first aired. Well, the first season was then it all went a little too strange. This remake – green-lit from Amazon's burgeoning Originals series – takes the best from the UK version and mixes it with a plot that's a little easier to follow and humour that's more laugh out loud than pitch black.

The premise is the same: a bunch of mates go and visit one friend at his luxury villa to celebrate his early retirement, only for murder, mayhem and mind-boggling plot developments to ensue. A touch of genius is the recasting of Ben Chaplin. While he played the rich, retiring Alvo in the UK version here he gets to try his luck in a bigger and better role.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 1

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Mozart in the Jungle

Now into its fourth series, Mozart in the Jungle was this surprise winner at the 2015 Golden Globes, where it won Best Comedy Series. The show is a comedy set in the strange world of classical music. Gael García Bernal plays young conductor Rodrigo who replaces a retiring conductor played by Malcolm McDowell. Based loosely on a true story and created by the likes of Jason Schwartzman and Roman Coppola, it's well worth a watch.

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 4

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Parks and Recreation

Parks and Rec is a joy of a show. Originally seen as a quasi spin-off of the Office – using the same documentary style camerawork, awkward pauses, asides to camera – it soon grew from an amusing first season, about the goings on in the parks department of Pawnee, to a comedy phenomenon that spanned a fantastic seven seasons. It's not just the script that makes it great, it's also the characters – headed up by the ever-brilliant Amy Poehler.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 7

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Seinfeld

Seinfeld is comedy gold. It’s the sitcom that was self reflexive and knowing. It was about Jerry Seinfeld who was played by Jerry Seinfeld but was playing a version of himself. It’s a similar trick Larry David used when spinning off his character for the show Curb Your Enthusiasm. He even took it a step further to make a whole season of Curb dedicated to bringing back Seinfeld. Over nine seasons this show, which is essentially about nothing, will captivate you, make you laugh and think. It’s fantastic.

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 9

Thrillers

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New Season Added: The Americans

The Americans was cruelly mishandled when it originally came to UK TV, so we are glad it has finally found a decent place to reside. The show is a cracking crime period thriller that follows the exploits of a couple of KGB agents posing as US citizens around the time Ronald Reagan became US president.

It may occasionally flit between the ridiculous and the sublime but you would expect nothing more from a show that's main conceit comprises characters duelling with duality. The '80s setting is fantastic, too, though there aren't enough shell suits for our liking.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 6

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The Crossing

This sci-fi thriller has a really interesting premise. A group of refugees trying to escape a war arrive in an American town looking for somewhere to live. The sci-fi twist? They seem to be from 180 years in the future. Gasp! The story centres around a local sheriff, a federal agent and a mum looking for her missing daughter. It's full of conspiracy, mystery and there might be a superpower or two thrown in for good measure. But shh, we don't want to spoil anything.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 1

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The Exorcist

There has been an influx of TV adaptations of movies recently, with many of them actually hitting the mark. The ones that succeed the most are those that take the theme/feeling of the films they are adapting and go in their own direction – Fargo is a perfect example of this. Another example is The Exorcist. Although it takes a couple of episodes to get going, the TV series is a decent spin-off of the movie, with just a slither of a thread attaching the two. 

Don't expect full-on scares, as this is definitely a slow burner. But when the exorcisms come (and there are a few) they will send a chill down your spine. The show is now into its second season, too, so you can watch the first season with the knowledge that the tale of terror is set to continue.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 2

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The Fall

Before he was whipping up a storm as Mr Grey, Jamie Dornan played an effortlessly charming and equally chilling serial killer in The Fall, a fantastic Irish drama that deserves all the acclaim it gets.

Dornan is Paul Spector, a care worker who has a sideline in killing woman. To help track him down, hard-nosed detective Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) heads to Belfast to try and capture the murderer. The Fall is a perfect blend of intelligent scripting, nuanced acting and a fantastic premise. Knowing who the killer is from scene one amps up, rather than releases, the show's tension.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 3

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Fear The Walking Dead

Fear The Walking Dead is a show that tries its hardest to be more than a spin-off. Set in Los Angeles, the show follows high school guidance counselor Madison Clark (a brilliant Kim Dickens fresh from Treme) and English teacher Travis Manawa (Cliff Curtis) as they adapt to a life after the 'zombie' outbreak. The show is slow paced, each episode is an hour and there's a 90-minute pilot, but it manages to approach the Walking Dead world in a wholly different way.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 4

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Halt And Catch Fire

Now in its fourth season, Halt And Catch Fire is another surefire hit by AMC – the folks that brought us Mad Men and Breaking Bad. Set around a fictionalised version of the computer revolution of the 1980s and the rise of the web in the '90s, Catch Fire is a fantastic look at how technology has improved all our lives, while nearly tearing apart the innovators at the same time. 

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 4

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Hap and Leonard

Filmed in Baton Rouge and based on the stories of Joe Lansdale, Hap and Leonard is a great swampy noir thriller of a show that’s based on the relationship of two friends and the sometimes violent scrapes they get into. James Purefoy and Michael K Williams are superb as the pair, one a Vietnam vet, the other a draft dodger. Set in the 80s, the show is similar to Cold In July, the movie from the same writer and is only six episodes long, so perfect for a binge watch.

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 3

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Haven

Stephen King has had a rocky journey to the big and small screen. For every adaptation that works (Misery, Shawshank Redemption), there’s a dozen that don’t (The Langoliers, Under The Dome TV show). Haven is a strange one – it’s a show that started as an adaptation of a Stephen King short story, The Colorado Kid, and has mutated into a love letter to King and his stories. Over the course of five seasons, the show has becomes a great watch – especially if you are a King fan and can spot the many references. 

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 4

Update: Haven is still available via Amazon Prime Video, but it's no longer free. You'll have to pay £2.49 per episode, or buy a whole season for £13.99.

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Into The Badlands

Into The Badlands is a heady mix of brilliant martial arts and high drama as trained fighter Sunny (Daniel Wu) takes a group of people on a twisted road trip through the mystical badlands, a post-apocalyptic landscape some 500 years after a devastating war. There's plenty of bite in each episode, and it also contains some of the best fighting seen on television.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 3

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Mr Robot

It was an agonising wait for Mr Robot in the UK – the first season had all-but ended in the US before we even got a sniff of it. But its popularity meant that there was something of a bidding war to see who would show it in the UK. Amazon, Netflix and other more traditional broadcasters fought for it, proving that even bean counters can see the worth in counter culture.

Amazon won in the end and is the perfect place for a show that focuses on the exploits of hacker Elliot (a superb Rami Malek). Mr Robot is Fight Club for the Tor generation, lifting a lid on a world where what Linux kernel you use is not just a badge of honour but a way of life.

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 3

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The Man In The High Castle

There have been a number of successful Amazon pilots that have made it to a full series but none have the epic potential that Man In The High Castle has. This Philip K Dick adaptation is finally available to stream – with all episodes ready for your consumption. High Castle imagines what the world would be like if Germany had won World War II and the Nazis had taken global control. Turns out it's a bit worse than us all driving around in VW Beetles and wearing Hugo Boss coats.

Season 2 is now available and expands on the mythos. Given this is a cautionary tale about what could happen when the hard right takes over America, things suddenly don't feel too far fetched.

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 3

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Preacher

Amazon of a Preacher, man! Preacher is the next big comic-book adaptation and my god it's good. It takes the deranged feel of the graphic novels and translates it well to the small screen. Dominic Cooper is great as small-town preacher Jesse Custer who, inhabited by a strange spirit, starts to do God's work in a small America town with his ex girlfriend (a brilliant Ruth Negga) and an Irish vampire, played by Misfits' Joe Gilgun as his cohorts.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 3

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Ripper Street

For a show that’s steeped in murder, it’s pleasing to note that we all have Amazon to thank for breathing new life into Ripper Street. After two series of the show, which focuses on the lives of the East End of London in the 19th Century where there is a copycat Jack the Ripper on the loose, it was cancelled by the BBC. Amazon decided there was enough fan love out there, thankfully, and revived the show for three more series. Great acting masks some of the hokier moments of the script but this is all good, grizzly fun.

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 5

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Sons Of Anarchy

Seemingly always vying for the top spot of Best Recently Finished Drama (we may have made up that award) with Breaking Bad, Sons Of Anarchy is a long brooding menace of a show that deserves your attention. Centred on a motorcycle gang that live by their own rules (you can probably guess what their name is from the title) the show is positively Shakespearean in its storytelling and will have you gripped from episode one.

While Ron Perlman steals the show as Clay, Charlie Hunnam's Jax is one of the best tortured souls you will see on any television show. All seven seasons of the show are now streaming on the service.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 7

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Vikings

If you have any interest in Norse mythology then the name Ragnar Lothbrok will mean a whole lot to you. Basically he was a king and powerful ruler that was a right git to the English and the French.

Vikings is a series that traces his Norse-based goings on with enough charm and scope to take on Game of Thrones in the sword and sandals stakes. Yes it takes a number of liberties with its source material but the acting is top class, as is the cinematography in a historical romp that's now deservedly in its fourth season – the second half of which is now available.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 5

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The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead has been reanimated more times than the zombies that harruange the group of survivors we have all come to know and love. Initially created with Frank Darabont at the helm, he left after the first season then his replacement was eventually replaced and their replacement replaced.

With this in mind, it's amazing that not only has the show consistently managed to improve season after season it has become one of the most successful series ever. Yes it sometimes slumps along slower than a zombie with its legs hacked off but give it time and it will reward you with more drama than you can shake a bloody stump at.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 9

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The X-Files

The X-Files was one of the first shows that embraced event TV. Yes, it had many 'monster of the week' storylines but creator Chris Carter managed to produce a nine-season long mythology arc that kept viewers coming back for more. That and the brilliant casting of David Duchovny as Fox Mulder and the ever-excellent Gillian Anderson and Dana Scully. With a new 10th season on the horizon, Amazon has put all nine previous seasons on to Prime – all remastered in widescreen. Lovely stuff.

Seasons on Amazon Prime: 9

The best of the rest, and coming soon

All or Nothing

We definitely recommend you get stuck into All or Nothing, a football documentary that follows Manchester City behind-the-scenes during the Premier League winning and record-breaking 2017/2018 season. It's an 8-part series that features all kinds of exclusive footage, from locker room pep talks with coach Pep Guardiola, and a look at the players' lives off and on the pitch. It's a must-watch for everyone from die-hard Man City fans to even those with a vague interested in footy.

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 1

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Batman: The Animated Series

You've seen all the Nolan and Burton Bat flicks, and you're wisely avoiding the new Batfleck films. If you're still hankering for a Batman fix, you could do far, far worse than jumping into Batman: The Animated Series. Kicking off back in 1992, it bridges the gap of the Burton aesthetic and the comic book series, and is regarded by Batman fans as having perhaps the definitive onscreen take on the Dark Knight.

It's ostensibly a kids cartoon, but the ongoing storylines are captivating and stylishly noir-like in delivery. And to cap things off, the voice cast is superb – Kevin Conroy is an assuredly-good Batman (reprising the role for the recent Batman: Arkham games), while Star Wars' own Mark Hamill is a fantastically unhinged Joker.

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 4

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Grand Prix Driver

This new Amazon Original documentary takes viewers underneath the glitz and glamour that is the surface of Formula 1, to explore the inner-workings of the 2017 McLaren team. Narrated by Michael Douglas, this documentary follows  rookie driver Stoffel Vandoorne over four episodes, as he and his team prepare for the 2017 Formula 1 World Championship. 

Season on Amazon Prime Video: 1

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Grimm

Merge a fairy tale fantasy with a police drama and you get Grimm. It's all about Nick Burkhardt, a detective based in Portland in the US who discovers he's a Grimm. Which basically means he's a kind of mystical guardian who must keep the peace between humans and creatures called Wesen. As you might expect, a lot of the characters are inspired by Grimms' Fairy Tales, but the show draws from many other sources too to create a story that's a little like Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but with fairy tale creatures.

Seasons on Amazon Prime Video: 6

Image Credit: Amazon Prime Video

Coming Soon: Good Omens

From the genius literary and fantasy minds of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett comes the TV adaptation of their magical book Good Omens. Starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen in the lead roles of a demon and an angel, the story is told over six parts and is anticipated to be the hottest new TV show this Spring. 

Release Date: May 31, 2019

Image Credit: Amazon Prime Video

Coming Soon: Fleabag (Season 2) 

Fleabag season 1 changed everything we knew about comedy, breaking the fourth wall and bringing the very authentic, laugh out loud funny and, at times, completely heartbreaking private moments of the lovable but deeply flawed lead character to our TV screens. Season 2 was a huge hit when it first aired earlier this year, and you can relive all the 'sexy priest' magic on Amazon soon.

Release Date: May 17, 2019

Read more: techradar.com

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CCTV shows final moments of newsagent worker, 54, stabbed to death

CCTV footage has revealed the last moments of a father-of-two newsagent worker before he was stabbed to death in a robbery.

The victim, named locally as Ravi, 54, was killed on Sunday morning at his shop in Pinner, north west London.

A neighbour’s security camera captured a man arriving at the shop at around 5.30am in a white car, with neighbours identifying the vehicle as Ravi’s.

Minutes later another man can be seen ‘staggering’ through the area in another direction, while another car is also seen arriving with the driver seen walking out of shot before returning to the vehicle and leaving.

It is unknown whether either man was the killer, but locals say the driver of the white car was definitely ‘friendly and polite’ Ravi.

Police say the robbery ‘escalated’ and it is believed the offender stole a till, which may have been discarded in the area.

Locals say the shop, Marsh Food and Wine, has been targeted twice before, with the most recent incident six months ago.

The possible last sighting of the newsagent captured on camera as he arrived to open up his shop before he was fatally stabbed inside

Flowers and tributes have been left at the scene today while forensic officers continue to perform fingertip searches.

A cordon remains at the scene, with a white and yellow evidence tent still up.

Gareth Cox, 42, who lives above the scene, said he found the footage on his CCTV camera after waking up to find a forensic tent outside his flat. 

The brewery owner said: ‘I woke up at 7am to find the whole road cordoned off, a couple of ambulances and a very large police presence.

‘Someone was staggering along at half five, the footage is grainy, but you can see him stumbling along the pavement.

‘It looks like it must have happened close by perhaps – he come out of one of the houses – this took place opposite the synagogue.’

He added: ‘Just before the man was stumbling a car, I think it’s a Prius, pulled up, a man got out and he walked the other way.

‘It was the guy from the news agents. The car was his and he always parked outside.  

He added: ‘They were hit by armed men two years ago, there was police and forensics everywhere.

‘Why they would target that place I don’t know. It’s a newsagent that sells party supplies.’

Another local newsagent said: ‘Ravi’s shop was broken into in the middle of the night before. They came for his cigarettes.

‘Nobody was hurt. The police were called. It was six months ago.’    

Speaking at the police cordon, another neighbour confirmed that the car was owner by the victim.

She said: ‘That was his car. He would drive it to the shop each time he was in.’

Neighbour Kediga Mohammed Ali added: ‘Whenever he was inside the shop that car was outside.’

A man knifed to death at a newsagent in north west London has been named as father-of-two Ravi, 54, and described as a ‘friendly and polite’ man 

It comes amid another night of bloodshed in the capital with six more people stabbed overnight from Saturday to Sunday

Residents have spoken of their shock after their local newsagent was killed.

A number of appeals have been also launched online by locals to raise money for his grieving family.

One organiser, Kristina Bennett, 31, said: ‘He was always friendly and polite.

‘Pinner is a lovely place to live with a great community, and I am hopeful that everyone will pull together to help the family in whatever way they can.’

Another appeal by the Pinner Parents group was set up to ‘pour all of our disbelief and sadness into something useful’.

The introduction for their GoFundMe appeal said: ‘The murder on our doorsteps yesterday was utterly senseless and totally tragic. While we are seeing an epidemic of violent crime in this country, for it to happen so close to home is hard to ignore.’

One woman said: ‘I have lived here for 46 years, I know the area very well, it’s lovely – all kinds of people are here and it’s peaceful.

‘I would go into that shop each week to pay my newspaper bill.

‘When I do I speak to the owner, he has always been a very private person, but last week he began to open up.

Scotland Yard said the shop’s till was stolen and may have been discarded by the suspect, while detectives are appealing for witnesses who saw a black Vauxhall Astra driven away at speed immediately after the stabbing

‘He told me how much he loves the Netherlands and how he used to live there, in Amsterdam.

‘And I was told about his work with the tulips, he was so excited to talk about it, he just wouldn’t stop.

Another newsagent said: ‘I know the previous owner, Kan Balarajah, he owned the shop when it was a Post Office.

‘It changed hands again last summer. What happened is terrible. ‘

Another local, 62, said: ‘I collected my parcels from the shop. Ravi was the nicest man, so sweet.

‘He was lovely and a part of the community. He had glasses, I would see him behind the counter.

‘It’s appalling what happened. He left behind two children. Everyone here is very concerned.’  

Officers were called to the scene in Marsh Road at around 6am but the victim was pronounced dead about 45 minutes later.

Scotland Yard said the shop’s till was stolen and may have been discarded by the suspect, while detectives are appealing for witnesses who saw a black Vauxhall Astra driven away at speed immediately after the stabbing. 

No arrests have been made and detectives from the Homicide and Major Crime Command have been informed.  

Norman Stevenson, a Conservative councillor for Pinner, said: ‘I am shocked to hear what’s happened here this morning. Pinner is a fairly prosperous, leafy suburb. 

‘A very safe part of the world. It’s a real shock this has happened. There are only rumours at the moment about who the victim is. I have just been asking the police but they can’t release any information.

‘It’s very unfortunate. We wouldn’t expect it to happen. We don’t expect this to happen in a typical leafy suburb.’ 

One resident described Pinner as ‘lovely’ but said she was not shocked by the news as such incidents are ��happening in all areas’.

A section of Marsh Road in Pinner, pictured, remains cordoned off today

Mary MacNamara, who has lived in the area for four years, said: ‘We all see what’s going on generally and it (such crime) seems to be happening in all areas. 

‘It’s happening every day. Nobody does anything about it. The Government are doing nothing about it. All they do is fight about Brexit.’ 

Speaking yesterday, Detective Chief Inspector Simon Stancombe said: ‘I am appealing to anyone who was in the area around Marsh Lane this morning and saw anything of interest to contact police.

‘This was a violent robbery that has escalated, resulting in the murder of a man.

‘It appears the till was stolen from the shop during this robbery and this may have been discarded by the suspect. If you have come across this, we want to hear from you.

‘I am particularly keen to hear from anyone who saw a black Vauxhall Astra that was driven away at speed south down Cecil Park immediately after the attack.

‘We think that car was parked in Cecil Park prior to the murder – if you saw this, or have any other information that could help us progress this investigation, I would urge you to get in contact.’

Police are asking anyone with information to call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111. 

The stabbing is the 29th to be classed as a homicide in London so far this year.

On Friday night, a 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death outside a block of flats.

Police arrived just after 10.30pm to reports of a fight and found a teenage boy dying in the street.

Paramedics battled in vain and the teen was pronounced dead at the scene in Isleworth, west London.

Another murder investigation has been launched and no arrests have yet been made.

Police arrest eight people after a man ‘in his 30s’ was stabbed to death following a ‘disturbance’ on a leafy suburban road 

Six men and two women have been arrested after a man was stabbed to death during a ‘disturbance’ on a leafy suburban street, police have said.

Avon and Somerset Police have launched a murder investigation following the death of the man, aged in his 30s.

The force received a report of a disturbance at a property on Merlin Drive in Wells, Somerset, involving a number of people at 4.25pm on Saturday.

One of the men died of his injuries at the scene and his next of kin have been informed.

Avon and Somerset Police received a report of a disturbance at a property on Merlin Drive in Wells, Somerset, (pictured today) involving a number of people at 4.25pm on Saturday

The injuries sustained by the other man, also in his 30s, are not life threatening or life changing but he remains in hospital for medical treatment.

A force spokesman said: ‘Armed officers were deployed to the scene and assisted their patrol colleagues with carrying out a number of arrests.

‘The police helicopter was also used in the operation.

‘In total, six men and two women, all from the Somerset area, were detained in connection with the incident and currently remain in police custody.’

A post-mortem examination of the man who died and formal identification will be arranged ‘in due course’, he said.

Officers attended the scene and found two men with knife wounds on nearby Wookey Hole Road. One of the men died of his injuries . The scene is pictured today 

Specially trained officers will be providing support to the man’s family.

Detective Inspector Alistair Hammett, senior investigating officer, said a full investigation was being carried out into the ‘very tragic incident’.

‘I appreciate this incident will shock local residents and we are increasing patrols in the area to provide reassurance,’ he said.

‘At this stage, we believe this to be an isolated incident involving people known to each other.

‘A large cordon is in place around the Merlin Drive area and there will be a continuing police presence at the scene for some time while we carry out our enquiries.’

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 101 giving the log 760 of March 25, or anonymously through Crimestoppers.

Earlier this month, Nathaniel Armstrong, the cousin of Good Morning Britain weatherman Alex Beresford, was knifed to death in Fulham.

He was murdered outside a property on the same street that Crimewatch presenter Jill Dando was shot dead outside her home 20 years ago. 

Jodie Chesney, in Harold Hill, east London, and Yousef Makki, in Greater Manchester, both 17, were stabbed to death during one violence-filled weekend earlier this month.

It comes as Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced a £100million funding package to tackle Britain’s knife crime crisis. 

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[jenmedsbookreviews]

Can four pictures really sum up my week? Well, if I’m being honest they come pretty close. Reading, paperwork, sunny skies and traffic jams. That’s what I’ve been up to. The sunny skies makes a nice change. Well … not a change exactly, it’s becoming quite repetitive now, but hey – we mustn’t complain.

So how has your week been? Good? Good. I had a pretty awesome one by all accounts. Monday, despite being at work (boo hiss) I had a pretty fabulous day as I was Netgalley approved for one of THE books I have been most anticipating all year, the first in James Oswald’s brand new Constance Fairchild series, No Time To Cry. Now I was in Dublin training on Monday so I started reading it in my lunch break. Carried on reading it in the airport where I was only disturbed by a small false fire alarm, boarding the plane and driving home. I know! Annoying right? Carried on reading when I got home, finished around two a.am. I am completely gutted now as reading it so quickly means I have ages to wait for the next book in either series but by ‘eck. It was good. Sooooooo good. This was my only Netgalley this week, but that’s no bad thing lol. And as I arrived home to a signed copy of The Reckoning by Yrsa Sigurdardottir courtesy of Goldsboro Books too, the day was pretty good all in all.

Tuesday was a work day (boo hiss) but I crammed in some reading in the evening, even though I was absolutely shattered from my early morning book binge. Wednesday was a little more exciting as I drove down to London for an early morning (six a.m.) appointment the following day, Whilst there it felt only polite to head along to the London launch for Louise Voss’ The Old You and Doug Johnstone’s Fault Lines. The sacrifices one makes for blogging huh?

A fabulous evening in the gallery of Collyer Bristow on Beford Row in some wonderful company. So nice to catch up with old friends, Vicki Goldman, Joy Kluver, Jacob Collins, Anne Cater, Karen Cole, Mary Picken, Barry Forshaw and Marina Sofia. I met Daniel Pembrey who is lovely, and of course it was a chance to say hi to the lovely Karen Sullivan again and also the effervescent Meggy who was in her element and perhaps more than a little high on chocolate cake ;), One of the biggest surprises of the night was seeing Thomas Enger there – totally not expecting that but just shows what a fab team the Orenda guys are as he flew in all the way from Norway to give his support to the launch.

Book wise I picked up a signed copy of Fault Lines (I already had The Old You from earlier in the year at the Orenda Roadshow in Warwick) and an arc of Good Samaritans by Will Carver, an arc I have been rather jealous of having seen arriving with all my blogging compadres.

Driving home from Tottenham on Thursday was pure hell. Hell I tell you! Left at three and, with a series of delays, accidents and general nonsense to contend with, plus a very late breakfast stop at four thirty p.m., I finally arrived home just before eight. You’d think I’d be unhappy about that right? Well normally I would be but I managed to finish an audio book and then, when you arrive home to a massive parcel with your TBC auction wins in it, well you can’t stay in a bad mood for long can you? Such a wonderful sight to see.

What was in it? Well … Random, Snapshot, Cold Grave, Witness The Dead, In Place of Death, Murderabilia and The Photographer by Craig Robertson and The Unseen, The Price, The Harrowing and The Book of Shadows by Alexandra Sokoloff. Oh, plus some Ferrero Rocher and a Bloody Scotland t-shirt. Tidy.

Friday it was back to work and some rather dull but essential meetings and a lot more spreadsheet work. You’d think I’d be flagging by this point, and normally you’d be right, but an email from the lovely Karen Sullivan put a big smile on my face and not even talking coffee pods, cost centre reports or proof of delivery capture could get me down. More on that later in the week 😉

Saturday and Sunday … well a little walking and more reading plus a whole lot of review writing. I’m a little behind. Unlike my actual behind which is currently anything other than little hence my need for all the walking, even in this heat… saw some cygnets down a the local canal basin though so that was nice. And the books I have been reading are awesome which is also nice 🙂

Book purchase wise I was quite good really. For me. No new audible, just the one Netgalley above and only three book purchased, two pre-orders and one free short story. They were The Night She Died by Jenny Blackhurst; Death’s Door by Paul Finch and No Further Questions by Gillian McAllister.

Books I have read

No Time To Cry – James Oswald

Undercover ops are always dangerous, but DC Constance Fairchild never expected things to go this wrong.

Returning to their base of operations, an anonymous office in a shabby neighbourhood, she finds the bloodied body of her boss, and friend, DI Pete Copperthwaite. He’s been executed – a single shot to the head.

In the aftermath, it seems someone in the Met is determined to make sure that blame for the wrecked operation falls squarely on Con’s shoulders. She is cut loose and cast out, angry and alone with her grief… right until the moment someone also tries to put a bullet through her head.

There’s no place to hide, and no time to cry.

Oh my life how I loved this book. Constance ‘Con’ Fairchild is a brilliant new protagonist who I am looking forward to getting to know. Very different in tone and style from the Inspector McLean series, it still bears James Oswald’s natural style of a twisted and complex story, with just a hint of something … supernatural, captivating characters and feisty determination. He may give his leads a very privileged start in life but he never quite lets them get comfortable. Loved it. And if you’ve not read any books by Mr Oswald yet, this is a great place to start. I’ll be reviewing later in the year, may do a taster review later in the month (ebook publication is late July) and you can preorder your own copy here. Do it. you know you want to.

…

The Killing Habit – Mark Billingham

How do you catch a killer who is yet to kill? We all know the signs. Cruelty, lack of empathy, the killing of animals. Now, pets on suburban London streets are being stalked by a shadow, and it could just be the start.

DI Tom Thorne knows the psychological profile of such offenders all too well, so when he is tasked with catching a notorious killer of domestic cats, he sees the chance to stop a series of homicides before they happen.

Others are less convinced, so once more, Thorne relies on DI Nicola Tanner to help him solve the case, before the culprit starts hunting people. It’s a journey that brings them face to face with a killer who will tear their lives apart.

Mark Billingham has a real knack for taking real life cases and spinning them into an occasionally gruesome, always compelling, what if kind of scenario. The book starts in an almost surreal way with Thorne tasked with capturing a cat killer of all people, and ends in a way no-one could have foreseen, Gripping, action laden and with the wonderful pairing of Thorne with his exact opposite, Nicola Tanner once more, this is irresistably good. I’ll be reviewing soon but you can get your own copy here.

…

A Patient Fury – Sarah Ward

When Detective Constable Connie Childs is dragged from her bed to the fire-wrecked property on Cross Farm Lane she knows as she steps from the car that this house contains death.

Three bodies discovered – a family obliterated – their deaths all seem to point to one conclusion: One mother, one murderer.

But D.C. Childs, determined as ever to discover the truth behind the tragedy, realises it is the fourth body – the one they cannot find – that holds the key to the mystery at Cross Farm Lane.

What Connie Childs fails to spot is that her determination to unmask the real murderer might cost her more than her health – this time she could lose the thing she cares about most: her career.

This was my first Connie Childs book, although I have the others on my kindle waiting patiently. I know I’veprobably missed quite a bit in Connie’s first outings but I have to say i really liked her, a determined officer, stubborn even, who is not willing to let things go just because she is ordered to do so and who has great instincts which she knows to trust. A harrowing case involving the death of a child puts the whole team on edge. Clever plotting, excellent writing and a guarantee I’ll be back for more. I\ll be reviewing as part of the tour later in the month but you can buy a copy here.

…

Dancing on the Grave – Zoe Sharp

In one of the most beautiful corners of England, Something very ugly is about to take place…

A sniper with a mission… a young cop with nothing to lose… a CSI with everything to prove… a teenage girl with a terrifying obsession…

There’s a killer on the loose in the Lake District, and the calm of an English summer is shattered.

For newly qualified crime-scene investigator, Grace McColl, it’s both the start of a nightmare and the chance to prove herself after a mistake that cost a life.

For Detective Constable Nick Weston, recently transferred from London, it’s an opportunity to recover his nerve after a disastrous undercover operation that left him for dead.

And for a lonely, loveless teenage girl, Edith, it’s the start of a twisted fantasy—one she never dreamed might come true.

A standalone CSI led thriller this involves a high profile murder, a killer on the loose with a very unstable young woman at his side. High tension, high action and with brilliantly drawn characters this is another top class read from author Zoe Sharp and highly recommended. I’ll be reviewing on the tour later in the month but do yourself a favour and bag a copy here.

…

Four books – not too shabby all things considered. It’s been a busy week. Less so on the blog but I am meant to be slowing down…

The Note by Andrew Barrett

A Meditation on Murder by Robert Thorogood

Death on Dartmoor by Bernie Steadman

After He’s Gone by Jane Isaac

Guest Post: Robert Dugoni – Author of A Steep Price

The week ahead is pretty full on. I’ve a few blog tours starting tomorrow with The Death of Mrs Westaway by Rith Ware and A Summer Scandal by Kat French; How Far We Fall by Jane Shemilt and Gone To Ground by Rachel Amphlett.

I’ll also be taking part in an exclusive cover reveal on Wednesday so do stop by. I promise you that you really want to see this. Love it.

My week will otherwise be made up of work, reading, reviewing and – wait for it – actual writing. Yes, you read that right. No more messing about. I will be writing. Eek. No pressure.

Have a fabulous and hopefully sunny and book filled week all. See you on the other side.

Jen

Rewind, recap: Weekly update w/e 01/07/18 Can four pictures really sum up my week? Well, if I'm being honest they come pretty close.

[roslinadama-sinequanon]

Major Crimes Re-Watch-The Agony and the Ecstasy.

To me, this episode was all about the “new kid”, being the new kid and dealing with the new kid, and how the different characters handle that. Sharon’s life lesson to Rusty at the end of the episode is that throughout life you will always be the newbie at some point but if you don’t run, eventually you’ll find your place and someone else will be new.

Right now, Sharon is the new kid on the block and she has spent the last few episodes dealing with the barbs and cold shoulders of a team not completely ready to accept her. However, instead of running, she stood her ground and worked to forge relationships and take her place among them—and it is working for the most part. . Provenza is still struggling to deal with the new kid who has walked in and taken what he considered his place as the leader of the team. He is irritated that his friends/colleagues are accepting Sharon so easily and it leaves him feeling rather lost. But now it isn’t so much about Sharon as it is about his bruised ego and not being sure where he fits in anymore.

And of course, Rusty is struggling with his first day of school and all that goes with being the new kid. However, unlike Sharon he is not trying to forge relationships and make a place for himself because he is convinced that he is not going to stay and it’s easier to shove people away before they shove you away, which has been the story of his life.

Ovi kills his father because he does not want to go into witness protection, move to Oklahoma and be the new kid there. He doesn’t want to lose his friends. His is the most extreme response of the four.

“I need to be at a crime scene!” “My clothes are off, MY CLOTHES ARE OFF” The episode starts with one of my favorite Sharon/Rusty scenes—Sharon trying to wake Rusty up so she can get to work. Typical mother/son morning. The way Sharon wakes Rusty, slowly, then more urgently each time she goes in shows us that she really is used to dealing with teenagers. You cannot just wake a teenager and expect them to jump right up and Sharon gets that.

So, Rusty looks at the clock and complains that it is not even 6:00am yet—and that is the third time Sharon has gone in to wake him so she probably started somewhere between 5:30 and 5:45 and she looks THAT GOOD. She had to have gotten up around 4:00 to have showered, blown her hair dry, done her make-up and dressed so impeccably. In episode one Sharon tells Rusty that “lights’ out” is 10:30. That means Sharon only got about 5 hours sleep. She looks damn good for only five hours. Later we hear that the murder occurred around 5:20am so Sharon couldn’t have gotten the call until around 5:30ish so she was obviously up and very nearly ready to go before she even got the call.

“I shouldn’t even be going to this school I’m not even Catholic.” “Just walk around with a guilty look on your face. You’ll fit right in.” LOL, I just had to remark on this, because as a Catholic, I totally get this. Also, it gives us more insight into Sharon and the world of “doing the right thing” where she resides--and the weight of the guilt when she feels she hasn’t. It is ingrained in her and a lot of that comes from her religion.

“Stay THERE” Here we can see why Sharon chose the more family friendly hours of working in PSB while she raised Emily and Ricky. Being a single mother and being a homicide detective is NOT easy. She’s lucky that Rusty is a witness and she could get Buzz to drive him to school.  

Andy and Sharon-Again, in this scene we get a sympathetic look from Andy to Sharon over Rusty. I think watching Sharon deal with Rusty really changed the way that Andy looked at her. He began to respect her not just as a colleague but also as a person and he grew to have a certain warmth and empathy for her. Later in the episode when things go the way Sharon planned in the case—a scenario Provenza was against---she gives Andy a fist pump and he gives her a thumbs up. They have become a great team.

“What happened in Pittsburg?” “You think you need to know everything?” LOL, the look on Andy’s face. Not sure he’s heard that one before in response to police questioning. Roma was pretty outlandish but for some reason this simple line really made me laugh.

“You had me at overtime”- Again, really liked watching Sharon dealing with the FBI and her professional relationship with Fritz. She doesn’t hesitate to put her foot down when she feels taken advantage of, however, she’s more than willing to work with the FBI—provided they do as much giving as they are receiving.

“You’re divorced, you have a hole in your heart so deep you couldn’t fill it up with booze so you cover it up with a badge. You feel like you destroyed your children’s lives even though they say they forgive you.” “Is that all you got?” Said through Andy’s gritted teeth. “You’re smart, cynical and tough.” This is my other favorite scene in this episode because for the first time we get some insight into who Andy is and a tiny bit of back story.  Though this is coming from Thorn, Andy’s response shows us that the guy obviously hit a nerve so there is some real truth in there. Andy tried to cover up his loneliness with booze, then with long hours at work and then with a string of pretty women, but it is only when he focuses on himself, on trying to understand his past and be a better, healthier person physically and mentally that he finds peace and a love with Sharon that will finally fill that hole. I think that is really quite beautiful, and I really wish there had been a greater focus on this over the years. Again, yet another missed opportunity.  And of course, great little chuckle when Thorn said of Provenza, “You’re cynical and tough” leaving out the smart, much to his chagrin.

Lt. I told you what I want done, do I really have to phrase this as an order?” Sharon is stepping it up and taking control, letting Provenza know that she is willing to pull rank if needs be. Provenza seems surprised, as Sharon has been so careful with him. However, I think he needed that. For him to accept his role and where he stands in the pecking order he needs her to step in and completely take control as his boss.

“I am also considering the message that you send by turning away an abandoned boy. Is that the message you want our congregation to follow?” “I am concerned with the safety of my other students.” “And what about their souls? Do you worry that they hear one thing at mass and another thing at school?” Sharon lives her faith. She does not play lip service to it, does not sit at church on Sunday playing at being pious then turn around and live a different life Monday-Saturday. She is not a hypocrite and this priest is behaving like a hypocrite by accepting the behavior of three St. Joseph boys but not the behavior of the new kid, Rusty, and by preaching about helping the poor and downtrodden but being so willing to expel Rusty. This scene also showed us that, while Sharon’s faith is an important part of her life, she not a meek follower. She is willing to stand toe to toe with a priest and call him out on his behavior—even shaming him by standing up for being a better Christian.

I love Sharon in this scene, but I also think it was important for Rusty. He thought for sure Sharon would accept everything the priest said at face value and take his side. Instead, she stood up for him and made sure he got fair treatment. I doubt anyone has ever stood up for Rusty like that before.  But then as soon as the door shuts, the table is turned and the smug look quickly disappears from Rusty’s face. While Sharon stood up for Rusty for telling the truth and for him to receive the same fair treatment the other boys were receiving that does not mean she condones his behavior. On the contrary. Violence is never the answer---she sees every day what happens when people allow violence to control their actions—and she knows Rusty was not just defending himself. He hurt those boys more than he needed to and she needs him to sit back and contemplate why he felt the need to hurt them so badly so this does not become a pattern in his life.

It was a good lesson for Rusty. Sharon has his back when he is right, but she also has very clear boundaries and will not put up with it when he is in the wrong. She is teaching him the difference between right and wrong, something that has not been a part of his life before.

“While I’m gone in addition to considering your future at St. Joseph’s you could think about the word civility and if it might be proper to treat me with the same respect that I’m showing you.” Yet another lesson in teaching Rusty the golden rule-- that he should treat people the way he wants to be treated. Again, this something that Sharon lives. She treats the people in her life and at work with respect and dignity so Rusty is not just hearing her telling him this, he sees it modeled in her behavior with him and with others.

“So, are you just not talking to me on purpose or what?” “I try to avoid conversation with people who can’t treat me as respectfully as I treat them.” Sharon is really driving this point home. It is obviously very important to her as a mother and as a person. Not speaking to him really got Rusty’s attention and he begins to open up to her, telling her how hard it was to listen to the other kids talk about their families. Sharon understands how hard it is to be the new kid, she’s going through some of that at work right now, but tells him that no matter what school she sends him to he will always be the new kid.

“No matter where you go, no matter when, you’ll never be a stranger to me. I’ll always know you.” “Whether I like it or not?” “That’s right buster, whether you like it or not.” Rusty has asked Sharon for a deal. He knows he is not going to stay with her and he would just like 30 days’ notice before he has to leave.  It has become apparent that he is actively pushing people away so he doesn’t get attached—which was probably behind his over the top reaction at school—because he knows he isn’t going to stay.  The 30-day request shows us that despite his tough stance, he is growing attached to Sharon and it will be hard for him to leave her. But Sharon is telling him that no matter when he leaves, now or well into the future, he will always mean something to her, he will never be a stranger to her. To a boy who was abandoned by his own mother this really means something to him.

The first time I watched this episode I wondered about the blue sweater zipped to the chin and the weird ponytail. It was a strange and rather jarring look for Sharon—her messy up-do in a future episode was much more attractive. But later, I can’t remember if it was in a James Duff Facebook chat or in one of Mary’s WWSRD podcasts, but someone—maybe Greg Lavoie-- said that they had Sharon zipped up to the chin to show that she was mindful of the fact that she had an impressionable young teenage boy living with her and hadn’t yet developed that mother/son bond where she could be more casual in her appearance with him. By season 2, Rusty was waking her up in her bed and she was walking around in her nightie so we got that slow progression.

I liked some of the humor in this episode—Thorn was funny and was useful in helping us see Provenza‘s mindset right now. But best of all I loved the greater insight into Sharon’s religion and Andy’s personal history and I loved all the mothership scenes, especially the first one.