The original CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION turned the corner on its 14th season tonight, and at its age, the show has little interest in reinventing itself beyond the bare minimum.  The days when William L. Petersen starred and people like Jerry Stahl were writing dark-humored, sometimes transgressive episodes are long past, and after a […]

  STALKER:  Wednesday 10PM on CBS Previously… on STALKER:  Lieutenant Beth Davis (Maggie Q) runs the Threat Assessment Unit of the LAPD, with a staff that includes Detectives Janice Lawrence (Mariana Klaveno) and Ben Caldwell (Victor Rasuk).  Their job is to investigate stalking incidents and protect victims from the more dangerous offenders.  The squad newcomer […]

  HIT & MISS:  WEDNESDAY 10pm on DirecTV Audience Network – Worth A Look   HIT & MISS is considerably less sensationalistic than its premise and first five minutes might lead you to expect.  By the end of the first episode’s opening credits, we’ve watched Mia (Chloe Sevigny) calmly shoot a man for money, then […]

> A lot can happen between the creation of a TV pilot in the spring and the production of episodes for the regular season: a writing/producing team is hired, audience focus groups weigh in, networks and studios (which may have had their own turnover) give plenty of notes, helpful and otherwise, and critics begin to […]

  RIZZOLI & ISLES:  Tuesday 9PM on TNT TNT set the last cornerstone of its extensive but unambitious summer schedule in place with tonight’s return of RIZZOLI & ISLES, one of the network’s mainstays, now back for its 4th season.  Like Bones, R&I is a relationship show that finds the time to solve a weekly murder, […]

  THE NIGHT SHIFT:  Tuesday 10PM on NBC Previously… on THE NIGHT SHIFT:  On the 7PM-7AM shift at San Antonio Medical Center, Dr. TC Callahan (Eoin Macken) is the rebellious yet brilliant ex-Army medic who’s willing to break all the rules, damn it, because all he cares about are his patients.  His ex, Jordan Alexander […]

> See A Word About Busted Pilots The word was that Stephen Gaghan’s pilot METRO was in serious consideration for NBC’s schedule until the very end (conventional wisdom has it that the final choice came down to Metro vs. Awake, and the latter made the cut).  That’s too bad:  the pilot is an impressive piece […]

    THE MINDY PROJECT: Tuesday 9:30PM on FOX – DVR Alert Companion shows don’t come more perfectly designed than FOX’s THE MINDY PROJECT.  When FOX launched New Girl last fall, it became an instant hit, with a quirky, likable heroine in Zooey Deschanel, a very strong supporting cast, and a sophisticated, urban tone.  it’s […]