UPDATE

Let's stop and re-evaluate a bit, shall we? Some things have changed, and when that happens, it's nice to take stock of things. Here's a little Q & A to get you caught up.

Q: So, what's changed?

A: Well, for starters, I've just agreed to turn that weekly post at Niners Nation I wrote about earlier into a bi-weekly post. Starting this week, I'll have one post on Friday mornings previewing the weekend's games in the NFL, and another on Monday morning reviewing the weekend action. I'm excited about this opportunity to reach a larger audience, but it will of course mean I have to post a little less over here.

Q: What does that mean for this site?

A: Hopefully, not much. Of course, since both my Monday and Friday football columns will be running elsewhere, they won't be here -- that means no more "For Who? For What?" or "Theoretical Gambling" -- but I will still write short posts that day to at least link to those posts. I'm also going to still try to post once a weekday over here, it's just unlikely that those posts will include my thoughts on sports -- at least not until after football season. I may have the occasional post about a baseball acquisition (today, the Giants signed former Reds reliever Jeremy Affeldt, and I might write something about that shortly, for instance), or random rant about something which doesn't fit into my football pieces, but most of what you'll find here will be related to my personal life, the entertainment world, or both.

Q: Do you have a preview of what exactly is to come for this site?

A: I'm glad you asked that, made-up person. As soon as I'm done answering this question, I'm going to do a quick update on the TV shows I've reviewed up to this point, and in the coming weeks I plan to see several Oscar bait movies to review. I'll also be turning my attention to established TV shows. Up until this point, I've only been reviewing old shows, but I want to review the latest seasons of some of my favorite shows to take a look at how they rate against their previous work.

TV UPDATE

Before I get to updating my reviews, I want to update my Top 10 Shows On TV list, even though I just wrote it last week. After catching up on the last couple episodes of 'Dexter', I need to ammend those rankings to raise it up at least one slot, and maybe more. Right no, they are peaking, with the current storyline one of its most compelling. I'm shocked to be saying this, but Jimmy Smits is the best thing that's ever happened to that show.

In TV, things can also change quickly. When you review a movie, you don't have to worry that the movie might change after your review, turning you into a liar. TV shows, on the other hand, can start off shakily, then turn it around and become very good with a few key changes. Other shows can have a terrific pilot and back it up with a couple good shows before completely crapping the bed. Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to go back and revisit the TV reviews I've done so far, which can all be found here.

LIFE ON MARS: This was very recent, and I haven't seen another episode, so my CONSIDER grade still stands.

ELEVENTH HOUR: I've seen a couple more episodes of this, but not much has changed. Still CONSIDER.

MY OWN WORST ENEMY: After giving it a PASS, I've seen one more episode (against my will), and there's been no change. I wouldn't hold my breath on it either -- it's been cancelled by NBC.

THE LIFE & TIMES OF TIM: I gave this a HIGHLY RECOMMEND, but while the show is still pretty good, it's become a bit spottier. Because of this recent inconsistency, I'm lowering my grade slightly to RECOMMEND.

FRINGE: Things are looking up a bit for 'Fringe' recently, as the last few episodes have shown it to be finding its own voice a little better. As with a lot of shows, the increased airtime has allowed the characters to become more three-dimensional, and thus the interplay between them is more compelling. They've also had some really cool bits on fringe science of late. Because of this improvement, I'm going to bump by original CONSIDER grade up to RECOMMEND territory.

TRUE BLOOD: Since I gave 'True Blood' a RECOMMEND grade, the show has stalled out a bit. I still like it, but I can see how somehow might say the characters are stagnating a bit as they run over familiar territory. I was prepared to drop their current grade until I saw the last episode, which I thought was better than the last few. I'm going to keep the original grade for now.

THE MENTALIST: The steadiest show on this list. You could argue that's because it's a predictable CBS procedural, and that might have some truth to it, but I like it, so I'll praise its consistency. Still RECOMMEND.

TV Review: 'Eleventh Hour'

This is the part where I act like an authority on entertainment, and criticize the work of professionals who are, without exception, more successful than I in the industry in which we both work. Some people would say this is proof I have "balls", or "chutzpah" in Jewspeak. Others would say it's proof I'm a "douchebag". To catch up on any old reviews, you can find the link on the right hand side of the page, or just click here.

‘Eleventh Hour’ is a CBS procedural from producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and if that sounds familiar, it should. That relationship has became a veritable factory in recent years, seemingly comprising half of the CBS primetime programming ('CSI', 'CSI: Miami', 'CSI: New York', 'Close to Home', 'Cold Case', 'Without a Trace'). I guess, then, it should come as no surprise that their latest effort feels quite familiar -- even before you find out it's yet another re-make of a British show.

It’s not that ’Eleventh Hour’ isn’t any good. It had solid acting, competent writing and direction, and a decent premise. It’s more that it feels like a derivative of better shows which have preceded it. The basic structure of the show, in fact, is almost a carbon copy of a formula which has had great success of late: Couple a brilliant, but socially-challenged man with a sharp, pretty female handler/partner.

The list of shows which use this model includes some quality entertainment -- ’Monk, ’House’, ’Life’, ’The Mentalist’, ’Fringe’, Bones’ -- but the window is closing on it, if not already shut. Not all those are perfect fits -- House doesn’t really have one partner (they switch them around a bit), and Bones flips the genders -– but you get the idea. Maybe that’s why ’Eleventh Hour’ feels so flat.

It’s not because of the acting. Lead Rufus Sewell is fine as Dr. Jacob Hood, the FBI’s head weird science dude (sorry to get so technical on you), and Marley Shelton isn’t bad as his partner, agent Rachel Young. Although, Sewell’s smoky voice and aloof demeanor is a bit more suited for the villains he usually plays, and may not be warm enough to draw a viewer in week after week -- at least, not in this cold of a role. In short, his character isn’t the quality of the aforementioned shows.

Sewell and Shelton are also asked to carry the show completely, with no colorful peripheral characters to fall back on, as many of those other shows do, which leaves the show resting on two less than fascinating characters and that week's storyline. The storylines are solid, some quite interesting, but not quite enough to overcome a familiar formula, structure and subject matter.

In other words: Knowing CBS, and their love for all thing procedural and middle-of-the-road, this show will be on for a long time. And if not, it'll probably be replaced by another procedural brought to by the good folks at Jerry Bruckheimer Productions.*

Using the age-old Hollywood scale of judgment –- HIGHLY RECOMMEND/RECOMMEND/CONSIDER/PASS (circle one) -– I rate ’Eleventh Hour’:

CONSIDER

* My writing partner and I actually had a meeting with a development exec at Bruckheimer's office once and it is amazing. It's located down at the end of a modest little street by the 10 freeway in Santa Monica, and doesn't look like much until you walk in to find a massive converted warehouse, done up in rustic Santa Fe-type decor, and a huge paining -- something like 20 feet high -- covering one wall. It was just like one of his movies -- big, expensive and cheesey.