Zoo

Starring: Billy Burke, James Wolk, Kristen Connolly, Nonso Anozie, & Nora Arnezeder

Seasons: 3 (2015-2017) - Network: CBS - Score: 3 1/2 Stars

Imagine a virus that effects the entire animal kingdom. One that makes all the animals, from the biggest mammal to the smallest insect self aware, so aware in fact that they realize that we are in fact the enemy. This was the premise behind the show Zoo, based on the novel by James Patterson. Zoo focuses on a secret team of animal experts, lead by Jackson Oz (James Wolk), assigned to research and discover the cause of the illness and try to find a way to cure it, but of course they face obstacles along the way, the least of which is the animals themselves. 

Mad Men's James Wolk stars, along side veteran TV actor Billy Burke and together they had terrific chemistry. Paired with a diverse cast, who at first were just trying to survive, made for an amazing first season. The side stories, character development, and special effects were all there at first. This was largely based on the fact that the show followed the book and any time you have something based on novel by an award winning writer, it's the way to go. After that, they strayed in their own direction and Zoo go heavily science based, something which tends to turn general audiences away, leading to it barely making it to a third season, one which was an epic disaster.

Zoo had two strikes against it from the beginning, one being that it was very expensive to produce, and when a show costs a lot, it better be in the top ten in ratings or it doesn't stand a chance. Second it was a summer pick up and those shows just don't get the ratings that networks are looking for. The first season was terrific, it was something new, different, and people loved it. After that, the show spiraled into all these strange tangents, the action declined, the government was more involved, and it just wasn't the same show anymore.

Audiences crave something different and if the show were going into season four or five, why not try something different? When a show is new however, why try to fix something that isn't broken? People loved the first season, it was highly acclaimed, and the ratings were terrific for a summer show, and being that it was a summer show, there were eight months in between seasons. No one was tired of Zoo and there wasn't a rating issue, there was no reason to change it so drastically. They tried tinkering too much and ultimately it lead to the shows demise. As the old saying goes, too many chefs ruin the pie.

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Bosch

Starring: Titus Welliver, Jamie Hector, Amy Aquino, Lance Reddick, Madison Lintz, Paul Calderon, & Sarah Clarke

Seasons: 5 (2014 - ) - Network: Amazon Prime - Score: 5 Stars

The best movies and tv shows come from books, and a series based off a series is as good as it gets! Michael Connelly has already published fifteen books about Detective Harry Bosch, meaning there is a ton of material and angles to be used, deep background and personalities on all the characters, and some amazing stories to tell! 

Harry Bosch is a L.A. homicide detective, a special forces veteran of the Iraq war, and a man who takes each case personally. Bosch is the best detective on the force and gets the biggest cases. He goes into extreme detail on every case and rules nothing out. However, his personal involvement in each case leads him to make rash decisions that often leave him under a microscope. 

Titus Welliver stars as Bosch, and I never liked him as an actor. It's not that he isn't talented, it's the fact that he's always playing the bad guy, a role he just doesn't fit. Bosch however is the perfect fit for him, as he fits the role like a glove. His previous experience playing the bad guy, helps him to mask emotion and be the toughest cop in the world when he needs to be. When I watch him I have the feeling that everything in his passed has lead up to this, a career defining role.

Welliver is paired with a couple of veterans from the hit HBO show, The Wire. Jamie Hector and Lance Reddick aren't only award winning actors, but their experience comes in the same vein of the genre as Bosch. After six years on The Wire, they are able to include their own spin on things and correct passed mistakes from the previous show, making for an incredible dynamic.

The final angle that makes this show as good as it is, is Harry's family and childhood. At it's core, this is just another cop show, but what makes it as good as it is, is the story of Harry Bosch's life. Knowing what we know and seeing the extraordinary things he is able to accomplish, with so much going against him, really makes for one compelling story.

Bosch is a cop show, but it's one that is written by an award winning novelist, produced by decades long veterans of the genre, and features a cast of award winners, that are as good as it gets. The casting for this show is terrific and the writing is phenomenal. If you love a good mystery and being part of the investigation every step of the way, you'll love Bosch. Often times these steaming shows aren't great, a lot of them are cancelled or rejected network shows, lacking in many ways. Bosch however isn't in that category, as it is the signature show of Amazon Prime and something that makes the whole cost of subscribing worthwhile.

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The Glades

Starring: Matt Passmore, Kiele Sanchez, Carlos Gomez, Jordan Wall, Michelle Hurd, & Uriah Shelton

Seasons: 4 (2010-2013) - Network: A&E - Score: 3 1/2 Stars

The story of The Glades is one of consistency, as the show was consistent to a fault. From the series premiere to it's finale, across four seasons, nothing ever changed. When the show went into re-runs, the only way you knew what season you were watching, was by seeing how big Uriah Shelton was, it had become that ridiculous. What could they have done with an episonic police drama that hadn't been done before, not much, but something would have better than nothing, as like most, near the end, I just completely lost interest.

Jim Longworth (Matt Passmore) is a homicide detective from Chicago, who doesn't like to play by the rules. He has his own way of doing things and it earned him a ticket out of town. He relocated to the Florida Everglades, expecting quiet days at work and weekends of golf in the sun, but murder happens everywhere. Each week Longworth finds unique homicides and ends up doing battle with everyone from deranged soccer moms to international drug smugglers, as he tries to keep the people of Florida safe.

One of the main focuses of the show is Jim's feelings for a nurse/medical student Callie (Kiele Sanchez), who often gets involved in his cases. Jim has become a mentor to her young son, Jeff (Uriah Shelton) and would love to be with Callie, but she can never seem to finalize her divorce or balance her life. It is a recurring theme throughout the series that never seems to get resolved and becomes unbelievably frustrating after 50 episodes of the same thing.

The show always starts with a crime, Jim investigates, jokes with the medical examiner and geeky forensic guy, and then works the case at the same time doing his back and fourth with Callie and Jeff, and that's it! There were never any recurring storylines, never any changes, nothing to keep people interested from season to season! How about a cliffhanger or a ballbuster of a new boss? Maybe someone should have gotten shot and their future left up in the air? Ever heard of a serial killer? There was never anything but the current case. The comedy was always there and at first the back and fourth with Jim and Callie was great, but when you're doing the same thing four years later, who cares already?

The bottom line, this was a show that had potential, I liked the characters, the setting was fairly unique, and there were a couple of really talented new faces associated with this show. However, The Glades was happy with the status quo and didn't take any risks of any kind. It quickly grew stale, the ratings dropped, and now it's just another failed forgotten cop show streaming on Netflix.

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The Returned (U.S. Version)

Starring: India Ennenga, Mark Pellegrino, Tandi Wright, Sophie Lowe, Dylan Kingwell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Mat Vairo, Kevin Alejandro, Sandrine Holt, Agnes Bruckner, Jeremy Sisto, Carl Lumbly, Leah Gibson, & Rhys Ward

Network: A&E - Seasons: 1 (2015) - Score: 2 Stars

Today there are more networks and streaming services offering original programming than ever before. It is an amazing time for TV lovers and it seems that anyone can get pretty much anything on the air. With all these new shows debuting all over the place, this does unfortunately leave the networks at somewhat of a disadvantage when it comes to original ideas. Out of desperation, many networks have turned to re-booting old shows, bringing back cancelled ideas that didin't work, and even Americanizing overseas television shows, The Returned is an example of the later.

I understand why A&E chose to take a show from overseas, Americanize it, and market it as their next big hit, but why the Returned? This idea has been done to death, both in movies and on TV, and while the show is critically acclaimed, the ratings for the overseas version were terrible, the show was cancelled after it's second season. If no one is watching it over there, why did they think anyone would watch it over here?

The returned takes place in a small Northwestern town, where one day, out of the blue, people who have been dead, some for decades, start showing up back at home with no memory of being gone at all. Each episode is broken up into sections that follow specific individuals and their interactions with their loved ones and society. There is also of course the police and investigative angle to the whole thing, and an unsolved crime thrown into the mix, in order to try and keep viewers coming back each week.

Funny thing is, I wasn't all that crazy about this episode of the Twilight Zone. It was a little better when The X-Files did it. The 4400 added beings from the future and turned it into a series that quickly ran out of storyline and fizzled out, and now we have The Returned. This isn't an original idea, far from it, and the fact that it takes place in the same location as the 4400 is completely laughable.

The cast has a few standouts that made the show a bit less tiresome, Mark Pellegrino is always fun to watch, as you never can figure out if he's a good guy or a bad one. We're also introduced to a new young actor in the form of Dylan Kingwell. He doesn't say much, but his character is honestly one of the most fascinating mysteries of the whole show.

The bottom line is that this show is a complete rip off of other ideas and there is really very little here to keep the viewers interested. The boys story turned out to be really cool, The murder investigation was interesting but under utilized, and there were a few cast members I enjoyed. Otherwise the writing was terrible and parts of this show were just painfully slow. There are some terrific overseas shows that no one has even mentioned bringing over here, why they chose this one, I'll never know.

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Quantico

Starring: Priyanka Chopra, Yasmine Elmarsi, Johanna Braddy, Jake McLaughlin, Aunjanue Ellis, Graham Rogers, Josh Hopkins, Tate Ellington, Blair Underwood, Russell Tovey, Pearl Thusi, Aaron Diaz, Anabelle Acosta, & Tracy Ifeachor

Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

 Last year, Quantico debuted on ABC with an incredible story line and a new action star for the next millennium. The show was so innovative and original, that it jumped quickly to the top of the ratings and was easily renewed. ABC thought the show was strong enough that it could draw viewers on any night, in any time slot, but they couldn't be more wrong. Quantico's first season was one of the best seasons of television I've ever seen, but it was the kind of story that left many viewers questioning, what else could they possibly do afterwards?

In only it's second season, Quantico set two television records. The first, saw the biggest drop in rating ever between a first season and a second. The second, saw the show renewed for a third season, as it had some of the highest DVR and on demand numbers of any show ever! Quantico was renewed based solely on DVR and on demand numbers, something that is unheard of and as little as five years ago never would have happened.

The series started with a bang, a big one, as terrorist blew up New York's Penn Station and immediately blamed for it, an FBI agent of middle eastern decent, Alex Parrish (Priyanka Chopra). She's an introverted person, and she knows she's been set up, by the only people who could have, one of her classmates from her time at the FBI academy at Quantico, she graduated from a year earlier. From there, each episode is a mix of Alex on the run in real time, trying to figure out who set her up and flashbacks to her time at the academy, showing her interacting with her classmates as she tries to remember anything she may have missed. 

TV shows just aren't written this well, it just doesn't happen, and when it does, it's usually in a ten episode cable series. I have never seen a network show that was this clever and gripping. Aside from the writing, Bollywood star, Priyanka Chopra, made the leap to Hollywood in a way that hasn't been done before. While Bollywood is just as big as Hollywood, it's biggest stars have never enjoyed the same success stateside, until now. She was beyond impressive and regardless of what happens with Quantico, has a bright future ahead of her.

Season two just started streaming and it's next up on my list, but like many, I am beyond curious about what could possibly happen next. For better or worse, the mystery was solved in season one, at least that's what we believe. What could possibly be left for season two? We saw them graduate the academy and we saw the end of the case, supposedly (I'm still a bit skeptical), where does the series go for here. Quantico always struck me as that series that was one hell of an idea, but if it succeeded, and it did, how does one keep the story going and keep it going with the same intensity? Similar shows with big ideas and tremendous first seasons like The Killing, The Riches, Under The Dome, and Wayward Pines quickly fizzled out. Will that ultimately be the fate of Quantico, or will it stand the test of time?

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