Crime Time TV

[Gerald So]

I'll be watching NBC tonight starting at 9:30 with "Andy Barker, P.I." Andy Richter plays an accountant mistaken for a private eye. Then at 10:00, Jeff Goldblum plays a cop haunted by dead people in "Raines".

Zap2it.com reviews both shows:
http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2007/03/reviews_andy_ba.html

I'll reply with thoughts after the shows air. Feel free to chime in.

[Sunnie Gill]

I have to confess I'm over Law and Order and CSI shows. Too many of them.
My current favourites are British shows.
Anyone caught:?
NEW TRICKS Cold case squad consisting of female superintendent and 3 retired or semi-retired detectives? Nice twist on the current cold case craze.

HUSTLE: another English offering starring Robert Vaughan (yes, he's still alive) heading up a team of con artists who every week fleece some nasty piece of work out of a great deal of dosh.

SPOOKS (aired in North America as MI5) Not strictly crime fiction, but one hell of a good show .

[Paul Guyot]

Kim,
The male Veronica isn't really. It's quite different. It has no official title as yet, the
working one being THE WORLD ACCORDING TO BARNES. It's for the CW.

I know Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars creator) and he's a wonderful and a
great writer. But I think the studio has messed with him too much. The
show has become the same note over and over for me. And I know Rob
doesn't write like that.

I hope PSYCH is a hit because I think we need choices like this on TV.
As Robin said, she can sit down with her kids and watch it. There
aren't many of those left.

The next season of PSYCH will make or break it. The producers made a
choice and went away from mystery writers, hiring a staff almost
entirely of sitcom scribes. I hope it works, but I'm not holding my
breath.

[Jeremy Lynch]

As I understand, if Mars returns, it will be jumping forward a couple of years and putting Mars in the FBI Academy.

[John DuMond]

Glad I saw this post. I didn't know these shows were set to premiere tonight. And, as luck would have it, CSI and SHARK aren't on tonight due to the NCAA basketball tournament. Good timing. Not a coincidence, I'm sure.

[Gerald So]

"Andy Barker" is good fun, comedic, but also refreshingly earnest. "Raines" has potential. I like Jeff Goldblum for unexpected comedy in general, but at times Raines seemed too low-key. It got so that when he made a joke, I'd go, "Oh, wait, that was a joke."

Given a chance, the character could find his legs. Unfortunately, six episodes isn't much of a chance. I'll keep my eye on the ratings. Midseason replacements really have to make a splash.

[Gerald So]

"Andy Barker" scored a 3.7/6, helping NBC to a third-place finish for the 9:00 PM hour. "Raines" scored a 6.7/12, second to "October Road," and ahead of CBS's NCAA Tournament coverage for the 10:00 PM hour.

[Steve Allan]

I liked the Andy Richter show. Hopefully it will do OK in the ratings. Here is the link to the first six episodes. Raines just seemed like another investigator sees and talks to dead people show. I didn't bother.

[John DuMond]

"Andy Barker, P.I.", showed some potential. Good cast of characters, and Richter's always fun to watch. I'll definitely make it a point to watch it next week. I tend to agree with you about "Raines." Goldblum fell kind of flat. Not something I expected from him. I did like the twist at the very end of the show. I'll probably give it another go next week, see how it shapes up.

[Robert Gregory Browne]

I thought Raines was interesting. Not great, but good enough to hold my attention. The twist at the end was nice.

Andy Barker was a bundle of not much, but I love Andy Richter, so he was able to keep me watching. I love the premise, but I'd also like a clever plot to go along with it. I have a feeling they need more than half an hour to develop decent stories.

[Michael C. Jacobs]

The Wire.


The Wire. The Wire. The Wire. The Wire! The WireTheWire!

IMHO:
VM: Weak third season but I am still hopeful.
Andy Barker: By the last few minutes I was chuckling a little.
Dresden: Great casting, lousy scripts.
Raines & The Riches: Haven't watched either yet but have them piling up on my replaytv.