Review

Battle Creek (2015)

battle-creek-tv-show

Battle Creek (2015)

Network:

CBS

Starring:

Josh Duhamel

Dean Winters

Aubrey Dollar

Kal Penn

Plot:

Two detectives with different views on the world team up and using cynicism, guile and deception, they clean up the streets of Battle Creek.

Review:

Netflix recommended this to me after I finished Mysteries of Laura. It was short only thirteen episodes and I immediately wanted more. It was a nice procedural that wasn’t too light but didn’t make me want to curl up in a ball scared to leave the house. The characters were interesting and fun, there was also a nice bit of humor.

Battle Creek was canceled, so unless some website saves it there won’t be any new episodes. The overall story arc is pretty much resolved so you’re not going to be left with a huge cliffhanger. I would recommend watching it if you’re looking for a good, short fix.

4/5

The X-Files (1993-?)

X-Files

The X-Files (1993-?)

Network:

Fox

Creator:

Chris Carter

Starring:

David Duchovny

Gillian Anderson

Mitch Pileggi

Plot:

Two FBI agents, Fox Mulder the believer and Dana Scully the skeptic, investigate the strange and unexplained while hidden forces work to impede their efforts.

Review:

I wouldn’t call myself a big X-Files fan. I liked it, of course, and I’ve seen all the episodes, but it’s not something I’ve ever re-watched. I keep meaning to, but never get around to it. One day.

Anyway, I don’t remember everything that happened at the end of the last run or really what even happened in the movies, but so far that hasn’t caused any problems.

The first episode was able to get me pumped up and excited for what’s to come. Considering I had to watch it on Fox’s app and deal with commercial breaks that only showed one commercial four to three times in a row, I think that’s saying something. Even after the slow torture of the Empire season premier trailer playing over and over to the point my daughter quoted it, I was eager to watch the next episode.

There was a lot of set up and I seriously hope they don’t resolve it all by the end of this six episode run. It would be too much to pack into such a limited number of episodes and it wouldn’t be what people love about the X-Files. I’m hoping it does well and leads to more seasons. We’ll see what happens.

4.5/5

Lucifer (2016-?)

Lucifer

Lucifer (2016-?)

Network:

Fox

Starring:

Tom Ellis

Lauren German

Lesley-Ann Brandt

Plot:

Satan takes up residence in Los Angeles.

Review:

It’s an immortal helping the police solve crimes. I feel like I just watched this, only it was called Forever and the main character wasn’t evil. It’s interesting and the pilot wasn’t horrible, but I’m not sure if I’ll keep this in my rotation.

Characters were fine and the Lucifer aspect was interesting, but I don’t know if that will be enough to keep me. I’m going to at least watch a couple more episodes.

3/5

Sweep in Peace (Innkeeper Chronicles #2) By: Ilona Andrews

Sweep in Peace

Sweep in Peace (Innkeeper Chronicles #2) By: Ilona Andrews

Plot:

Dina DeMille doesn’t run your typical Bed and Breakfast. Her inn defies laws of physics, her fluffy dog is secretly a monster, and the only paying guest is a former Galactic tyrant with a price on her head. But the inn needs guests to thrive, and guests have been scarce, so when an Arbitrator shows up at Dina’s door and asks her to host a peace summit between three warring species, she jumps on the chance.

Unfortunately, for Dina, keeping the peace between Space Vampires, the Hope-Crushing Horde, and the devious Merchants of Baha-char is much easier said than done. On top of keeping her guests from murdering each other, she must find a chef, remodel the inn…and risk everything, even her life, to save the man she might fall in love with. But then it’s all in the day’s work for an Innkeeper…

Review:

I honestly think what really pushed me to read this series was knowing that some of the characters I liked in the Edge Series made an appearance. George, Jack, and Lark are all grown up and they still very much have their issues.

Still this is Dina’s story and even though I liked the Edge character’s appearance, I preferred her part in everything. She’s like a patch of light in the middle of a lot of darkness, but when she realizes she’s being played she doesn’t pitch a fit or mope she took care of business.

Fair warning, I cried a lot while reading this. A lot. Freaked my family out.

Really hope there’s another book and I probably won’t be able to stop myself from reading it on Andrew’s website.

5/5

Mysteries of Laura (2014-?)

THE MYSTERIES OF LAURA -- "The Mystery of the Biker Bar" Episode 103 -- Pictured: (l-r) Charlie Reina as Nicholas Diamond, Debra Messing as Laura Diamond, Vincent Reina as Harrison Diamond -- (Photo by: Will Hart/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

Mysteries of Laura (2014-?)

Network:

NBC

Starring:

Debra Messing

Laz Alonso

Josh Lucas

Janina Gavankar

Max Jenkins

Plot:

A single mom NYPD homicide detective cracks case after case while raising wild twin boys and locking horns with her less than helpful police detective ex-husband.

Review:

This is weird, but I’ve been looking forward to watching this show. Ever since I found out it was from the same production company as Arrow and Flash, etc… I wanted to try it out. Months ago one of those Netflix lists that says what’s coming and going said that it was going to be added, but it never showed up. It wasn’t until this month that during one of my random searches it appeared. I devoured the first season and wanted to watch the second, but could only find the last five episodes online. No idea what’s going on with this show and it’s lack DVD/Bluray or streaming ability, but I really enjoyed it.

Laura, Debra Messing, is a working mom and I feel like she captures everything wonderfully. She’s very capable and smart and has a lot of common sense. Those qualities work great in a detective so she’s awesome at her job. She’s also disorganized and raising twin boys, so her life is a mess.

The show is almost wish fulfillment in that all those women out there that like to watch detective shows and think “I could do that” get to see it done every week. Laura’s life is far from perfect though so it’s not a total “I want that life” sort of thing.

Good side characters, like the case per week formula, love the insights into her home life, and really like the boyfriend.

4/5