Posts by Gino Sassani

"18 years of sustained combat. I learned a long time ago to remain calm in the chaos, so that the fighting doesn't bother me. But when things go quiet, I hear Father Time coming for me. A new battle on the horizon, and for the first time in my life I'm feeling an enemy I don't know how to fight."

What David Boreanaz does is create iconic television characters. He has had no trouble getting work over the years. He has had the ability to jump from one successful series to another and enjoy longevity in those roles. Unlike many actors who have had big television roles, he doesn't get at all pigeonholed or typecast. In Buffy The Vampire Slayer he originated the role of the vampire Angel, who spun off to his own series for several years. Immediately after that he took on the role of an FBI agent and partner to the title character on Bones. That job lasted a decade. Before the remains of Bones could be laid to rest, he was already working on his next new series. Now he's the field leader of a Navy SEAL team, and if the first three seasons of SEAL Team is any indication, he's going to be dodging bullets and RPG's for the foreseeable future. CBS has a big tradition of long-running shows, and I wouldn't be surprised if a decade from now I'm talking to you about the 13th season of SEAL Team.

"It's a family show with cops, not a cop show with a family." 

For ten years Blue Bloods has been a staple on CBS, giving Tom Selleck a chance to completely redefine his television career. The once cocky and carefree Magnum P.I. now has established himself as the wise patriarch. It's a transition that a 1970's audience would never have bought. But now he's become a new kind of airwaves icon. The show has also managed to make it through a decade with very little change in the cast, and most of that coming from additions. This season is no exception, as we discover there's been a long-lost member of the Reagan family out there for many years. But there are big changes coming to Blue Bloods. In the real world the police have been villainized by some, and it's becoming an increasingly tougher job to do. For a family so steeped in law enforcement, the show will absolutely have to address these new realities. The second of course is the arrival of a pandemic the likes of which this country or the world has never seen. Productions were shut down and are now only beginning to ramp back up. But the outside world has changed, and it will be interesting, to say the least, to see how this cop family will reflect and respond to these new circumstances. So this is your last chance to see the Reagans like they were before everything changed. The 10th season will mark the end of a different phase of cop show, and you can have it in your own video library. CBS delivers the 10th season of Blue Bloods on DVD, and things will never be the same again for the Reagans or for us.

"You're not failing. You just haven't succeeded yet."

If you are at all familiar with the NCIS franchise, you know that the show tends to follow a bit of a formula. Each spinoff has some unique style aspects, but the episodes tend to be relatively self-contained. That means you can start with Season 6 of NCIS: New Orleans and still be able to appreciate most of what's going on. You'll get to know and understand the characters pretty quickly. That's more true of this particular member of the NCIS family than the others. It has had the most cast turnover. By the end of this season there will only be three characters who have been there since the beginning. Compare that to the L.A. version where you'll find over a decade of no lost cast members, and you'll find this one is the easiest to drop in and out of. Unfortunately, that also contributes to the fact it is my least favorite entry in the franchise. And all of that is in spite of the fact that I'm a rather big Scott Bakula fan, having been impressed by both Quantum Leap and his tenure as a Star Trek captain in Enterprise. So while you could certainly enjoy this release on its own, I still recommend you go back and catch up on the first five seasons just to get caught up and maximize your enjoyment. The good news is that we can help you with that. You don't have to wade through 10 years of JAG, 18 years of NCIS, and 11 years of NCIS: L.A., although that might be one heck of a fun binge. Just catch up on the first five seasons of this show and you'll be ready to go. You can check out those reviews here.

"Life just got complicated."

It sure has. With the world still in the throes of pandemic, it's nice to spend some time catching up on familiar characters and compelling stories. Very few television franchises are as familiar by now as NCIS. CBS brings us the 11th season of the NCIS spin-off: NCIS; Los Angeles to DVD. The series has become one of the most successful spin-off shows in the history of television. Only CSI and the Law & Order franchises have brought more episodes to our television screens, and next season the NCIS franchise will have passed CSI. The truth is, if you go all the way back to the original JAG series, this is hands down the most prolific one-hour series in television history. What is even more amazing is that the NCIS shows continue to be the most-watched franchise in the entire world, a position they have held for over a decade. No one has come close to this kind of television domination. If this collection of episodes is any indication, the ride isn't anywhere near reaching the end. All three shows have been renewed, with NCIS getting a new two-year commitment at CBS. If you haven't already caught up on all of those earlier episodes, you don't necessarily need to do that, but why wouldn't you? You might want to get acquainted with the cast and other aspects of the series. You can at least catch up with the first 10 seasons of NCIS: L.A. Here.

"You like when I do the whole cryptic thing."

The 17th season of NCIS certainly ended with just that kind of vibe. The showrunners did a great job of keeping secret that Ziva would show up in the very last frame of the season. Everyone was sure she was dead, and while that's often no reason not to bring back a character in the fantasy genre, it doesn't often work in something like this. It brings up a lot of questions that were not going to be answered for several months. How is she still alive? Why is she here? Is she now a good guy or a bad guy? I'm sure you spent the summer with plenty of questions that didn't get answered for a long time. But it's finally aired, and now the whole story is out for home video as CBS releases the 17th season of NCIS. The team has changed faces over the years. Few of the original members remain, but as long as Mark Harmon remains in the starring role of Gibbs, there's life in this show yet. This season sees no real change in the characters of the show, but it does allow for even more growth for those still on the train. NCIS is about to enter into its 18th season in just a short time. That in itself is a remarkable accomplishment in the days of short attention spans and hundreds of shows to keep that attention. What is more remarkable is that it continues to be the number one drama in the world. What could a series possibly have left to say after 15 years? Apparently, the answer to that question is: a lot. One of the reasons the series has stayed so strong for so long is the cast. And while it has changed considerably over that time, new members are brought in who always seem to fit into that comfortable family that makes up the appeal of the series. This show has become like that ragged, threadbare shirt that you can't quite part with. That sentiment completely comes alive with that long-anticipated arrival of Ziva, played once again by Cote de Pablo. We got that surprising entrance just as last season ended and Ziva shows up in Gibbs' basement. Her new story kicks into high gear as she explains that Gibbs is in danger, and before we really get that reunion we longed for, they are under fire and running for their lives. The three episodes that feature Ziva are pretty much there to give the character a more proper send-off, and it attempts to close her story off with Tony without us seeing Tony in anything but flashbacks. Of course Michael Weatherly is busy with his own show, and if you were hoping for a cameo, that wasn't going to happen. The episodes were some of the highest-rated episodes of any television last year and helped considerably to keep the original NCIS on top all over the world. They are touching episodes, and I think they demonstrated this point of the new characters always being so perfectly chosen to retain the family atmosphere. This episode gives you plenty of moments to reflect on those changes and actually see the past meet the present, and it combines so well. I think you could bring back any of the previous cast and the show would be pretty much the same at its core. That's the secret of the show's longevity.

"It's crazy the things that happen at work."

The beginning of 2020 certainly created some crazy things everywhere in the world. A pandemic arrived and shut down productions all over the globe. Films are missing long-anticipated release dates, and most network television shows were forced to close down early to protect their casts and crews. Seasons have been called with whatever episodes were already finished. Most of those shows will continue to shoot those episodes as part of their next season when they are finally able to get back to work. That won't be the case for Hawaii Five-O. Late in this 10th season it was decided the show would wrap it up for good.  We got 22 episodes, and they even managed to get out a series finale. If it all feels a little rushed, that's because it was. This wasn't the best year to have to say goodbye, and it certainly adds to the sadness for the show’s participants and fans. Now CBS is offering those final episodes before we all say aloha.

In the local newspaper here in the Tampa Bay area there has been a long-running series of articles called One Tank Trips or something of that nature. The idea is that the writer would introduce you to some natural or otherwise splendor that you could visit in a relatively short distance but which you might not even know exists in your own back yard. I can't exactly make the connection, but that series kept intruding on my thoughts as I watched the first season of these little experimental Star Trek shorts. The idea appears to take us to places in the television universe of Star Trek to small events that we didn't even know were going on but which might have even had a large impact on the things we did know about. The first of them were pretty much extras on the Star Trek: Discovery DVD releases and told prequel/side stories directly related to episodes of the main show. They play pretty much like the kind of release extras you might get with any home video release. Somewhere along the way someone got the idea that these side trips could go beyond the current episode supplement idea and reach across the world of Star Trek, leaving the window open for almost any era, place, or character to show up, often in some unexpected form. An idea like that has great potential, but it's fraught with the danger of a very uneven presentation, and that's the inherent blessing and curse you will find in this single-disc DVD release of Short Treks.

The first two are called The Brightest Star and Runaway. Both appear on the second season release and tell stories that are directly a part of second season episodes. You already have them if you have that set. Calypso is also related to Discovery, but not directly to an episode. We find ourselves far into the future, where Discovery has been abandoned in deep space. It's likely been centuries since the ship had a crew, and the ship's AI has evolved and now finds itself lonely. When the ship encounters an escape pod, the man inside is rescued and brought back to health. The man, Craft, played by Aldis Hodge, participated in a war and was on his way home to his wife and family. The ship AI develops a kind of relationship with Craft, but ultimately understands it must release him to return home. If the story sounds a little familiar, it means you are up on your classic literature. It's Homer's story of The Odyssey, where the title character tries to get home after fighting in The Trojan War, chronicled in Homer's earlier book The Iliad. Odysseus must pass through many strange places and creatures before he finally makes his way home. It's actually quite well done and an unexpected emotional journey that really only flirts with the Star Trek concept.