Joan of Arcadia

Joan of Arcadia is the surprise hit of the sason - or is it a surprise? Barbara Hall (Judging Amy) has created a metaphysical space - Arcadia - for us to drop in and visit every week as God visits the teenager Joan. God has many faces - young, old, all races, cultures and occupations - and invites her (sometimes with a little more conviction) to do something that ends up helping someone or inspiring them. The show is thoughtful and I think the acting is excellent. Joe Mantegna as the police chief and the rather dark side of life he represents seemed at first to be too extreme a counterpoint to the supernatural aspect of Joan's relationship with God, but as the show is finding its pace, the elements are integrating well. The show invites us in, and makes me think "ah ha!" rather than weep into my hankie (as Touched by an Angel could do so well). And that's OK. Joan of Arcadia is a show filled with seekers for seekers. I like it very much.

CSI - Las Vegas, Miami, Navy

Why is it audiences like to watch close ups of body innards?

When CSI (Vegas) first came on, I watch it religiously (?!). Then came Miami. I like David Caruso but I still feel cheated because they stole Emily Procter from The West Wing. Anyway. Now Mark Harmon runs the Navy CSI. Different spins on the same theme: experts use forensics to solve very serious crimes. One thing I like about all of these is the cultural diversity of the casts, but all of them are headed by Middle Aged White Males. Then there is the issue of right and wrong. Is the government (police or military) always right, even when the crimes are within the very groups trying to solve the crimes? Something to talk about... How many murder mysteries can the primetime TV viewer handle in one week? And why? I like to vary my television diet. And I do like sports. I watch ice skating.

Life with Bonnie

I don't get to watch this show every week, but when I do, it always has some great laughs. There was a recent episode with the Smothers Brothers in it and it was so funny. Sure they sang that same old Spanish song that they turn into German. We older folks have heard it so many times, but in the show they played two brothers who run a construction company who used to have their own show but now "they don't want to talk about it." Older, yes, and funny as ever. Bonnie plays a morning talk show host so it's a show within a show. This is comedy, pure and simple and it features a woman in the lead. Bonnie's first show last year featured these two Italian cooks making Tiramisu. One did the work and the other one said his job was to watch. I have lived with an Italian nun who was a cook, and it was so realistic I laughed til I cried. Someone had an inside line on that one. Just enjoy.