Effin' crime dramas!

[LadyBarbossa]

Bones is one of the shows that really irritates me. The lead aggravates the shit out of me, and just today there was an episode where everyone was convinced they had the skeleton of JFK That's right up there with the 'zoom in on a pixelized security image and get a perfectly clear picture of the suspect' nonsense that CSI and NCIS use. Or the assumption that there is a drop of everyone's blood in a huge database in each city for DNA comparison.

[Rageaholic]

I like "Rizzoli and Isles" with Angie Harmon starring as Jane Rizzoli an Sasha Alexander as Dr. Maura Isles. The show is based on a series of books by Teri Gerritsen(sp?). This show gets gory as Dr. Isles is the coroner, and the coroner's office, I think, is in the basement of the police precinct, so there's scenes where Rizzoli (or another person) is interacting with Dr. Isles while she's elbow-deep in an autopsy. They show some things, but not any more or less than CSI or Bones.

I just started watching that. I like what I saw of it and may keep watching.

I feel middle ground with crime drama's. They can be intriguing, but are often too "realistic" and depressing (can't stand Law and Order SVU for that reason). I think the best ones are those like Monk and Psych (I miss Monk) that can also be considered comedies. Though I think Psych is more of a parody of crime shows (it rarely takes itself seriously).

[BlaqueKatt]

I so wish I could find the comic Amber Williams did about CSI to link to

I can get you an XKCD comic

I'm a fan of stuff like Columbo (mostly for Peter Falk, been a fan of his forever),

OT-but have you seen Vibes, he was quite good in it-one of my favorite movies

also-to elaborate on the NCIS/multiple jobs thing:

Ziva David on NCIS is an espionage expert who knows nine languages and is a skilled pianist -- all at age 28. Her coworker, forensic specialist Abby Sciuto, is also in her late twenties, but has still somehow picked a PhD in chemistry, bachelor's degrees in sociology, criminology and psychology, and good knowledge of hacking and computer forensic science. FBI consultant Peter Bishop on Fringe speaks five languages, has had papers published in academic journals, and is an expert in chemistry, biology, medicine, computer programming, auto repair, and pretty much everything you can name, all before time has had a chance to ravage his boyish good looks.

Mastery in a single field takes on average(even for really smart people)100,000 hours, or ten years.
also #8 is a clip from NCIS-with two people using the SAME KEYBOARD to stop a "hacker"

[mikoyan29]

My mom loved Law and ORder until they cancelled it. I watched Detroit 187 because it was set near home...but alas the axe found it,.

[Hyena Dandy]

I think that Bones is a great show... Provided you're not actually trying to follow the cases. If you only want to see how the characters interact in relation to the case, then its great. For example, the JFK episode was really about Booth's relationship with the US government, not finding out who shot JFK.

Episodic shows can advance the characters by giving them situations to deal with that parallel their character arcs, without forcing the characters to constantly get in fights and make up. It allows the writers to give drama, without making us wonder why these people are FRIENDS in the first place.

[Boozy]

Mastery in a single field takes on average(even for really smart people)100,000 hours, or ten years.

I think you added an extra zero in there. There aren't 100,000 hours in ten years.

If you're referring to Malcolm Gladwell's theory, he says it takes about 10,000 hours for someone to become an expert in their field. Someone could very well do that in five years or fewer, if they treat it as their full time job.

[Bloodsoul]

Am I the only one whom misses or even remembers Ellery Queen? I always thought it fun that he'd challenge the viewer to figure out whom the suspect was before finally giving the answer.

Long story made very short, POWERS is the story of Detective Christian Walker and his partner, Detective Deena Pilgrim, two homicide detectives assigned to the "Powers" beat... investigating the deaths of their city's SUPERHEROES AND SUPER VILLAINS!

Perhaps for their first episode they can investigate the death of a certain friendly, neighborhood superhero? Sounds like it'll be right up Bendis' alley.

[lordlundar]

Perhaps for their first episode they can investigate the death of a certain friendly, neighborhood superhero? Sounds like it'll be right up Bendis' alley.

Think Disney will give them access?

[Jack T. Chance]

Perhaps for their first episode they can investigate the death of a certain friendly, neighborhood superhero? Sounds like it'll be right up Bendis' alley.

Actually, the pilot is an adaptation of the comic's first story arc: "Who Killed Retro Girl?"

Much like Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Bendis & Oeming's POWERS has its own takes on the various hero and villain archetypes. Those that are very knowledgeable about superhero comics can easily figure out the inspirations for various characters, but here's a quick & dirty primer:

• Retro Girl -- The world's most beloved superheroine. Think Supergirl or Wonder Woman.
• Triphammer -- A billionaire inventor who fights crime using suits of advanced powered armor. Think Iron Man.
• Supershock -- The world's oldest, most beloved, most powerful superhero. Sort of a cross between Superman and Captain Marvel (AKA Shazam).
• Zora -- A blonde superheroine whose powers include flight, enhanced strength, and the ability to project cube-shaped force fields. Sort of a cross between Marvel's Dazzler and Invisible Woman, kinda.
• The Millenium Guard -- A group of cosmic superheroes, defending the universe. Their powers come from their uniform and their "energy bands", wristbands that are the product of advanced alien super science. A very obvious riff on DC's Green Lantern Corps and Marvel's Quasar.
• The Red Hawk & his sidekick, Wing -- A very blatant riff on a certain Caped Crusader and his Boy Ward.

And so on, and so forth.

[NateSean]

Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing this made into a TV crime drama. I got really hooked into the first few chapters and for some good awful reason I can't find it again.

[Bloodsoul]

Yeah, I remember hearing about Powers years ago and although I missed the original comics I'm currently trying to get into their latest run (I think it was only six or seven issues in, last I checked).

[AdminAssistant]

I like the occasional crime drama. I used to be a big fan of NCIS, but it's gone a bit downhill the past few seasons. I really disliked how they handled the loss of Director Shepard (the annoying chick from the first two seasons gets a two-part tribute episode but Jenny doesn't even merit a flashback?) I actually really like Abby as a character, but they need to stop having her attacked/kidnapped. Seriously, they've played the "Abby's in trouble!" card about 4 or 5 times now. I knew they were in trouble when I found out that Michael Weatherly is directing episodes. Yeah. DiNozzo's been put behind the camera, and I'm pretty sure he's no Alan Alda.

One thing that really confuses me about some crime dramas are the actors that they get. Jeff Goldblum, Joe Mantegna, Tim Roth, Laurence Fishburne? These are really really good actors, working with these second rate scripts. I dunno, maybe they're all trying to put their kids and grandkids through college.

[NateSean]

One thing that really confuses me about some crime dramas are the actors that they get. Jeff Goldblum, Joe Mantegna, Tim Roth, Laurence Fishburne?

Everyone needs a paycheck, even actors.

I think the motivation behind Tim Roth stemmed from a sudden obsession American audiences had with a British lead castigating Americans. But because TruTV didn't get to it first, instead of British Cops Tell American Ones What They're Doing Wrong we got Lie to Me.

Although, at least Cal Lightman is believable in Lie to Me as his character actually did spend some time practicing at his craft before he went into the business.

[AdminAssistant]

Yes, everyone needs a paycheck, but I'm sure these guys aren't exactly struggling for work. I mean, Jeff Goldblum could probably live pretty nicely from his residuals from Independence Day and Jurassic Park alone.

[Jack T. Chance]

Yeah, I remember hearing about Powers years ago and although I missed the original comics I'm currently trying to get into their latest run (I think it was only six or seven issues in, last I checked).

The only problem with that is that POWERS is very highly serialized. Jumping in on the most recent story arc (the 13th) will cause a lot of confusion. It's best to start at the beginning and work your way through from there.

Thanks to the Powers Daily website, you can read the first 4 story arcs in their entirety, plus part of the 5th, online, FOR FREE!

Start with "Who Killed Retro Girl?" and work your way forward from there. That way all the big plot twists and revelations will happen when they're supposed to.