Since Leverage burst onto the scene a couple of seasons ago, I’ve been keeping my eye on the TNT original series debuts. Rizzoli and Isles caught my eye for a number of reasons: nothing bad is ever set in Boston (yes, I may be a bit prejudiced….), I’ve read a couple of Tess Gerriten‘s books (which the series is based on) and enjoyed them and — I admit it — I had to get a look at Angie Harmon in her new role as Detective Jane Rizzoli.
Seriously Angie — what were you thinking? You pretty much just played the same role in the failed Women’s Murder Club series, so I had to see what freshness you thought you could bring to regurgitating the same role. Yeah, not much. Not to say Angie Harmon was bad, she was pretty likable and believable as Rizzoli … in fact, it was the least of the problems I had with this series premiere.
I loosely call it a series premiere, because what I watched was really more akin to a TV movie, albeit a very short one (44 minutes or so….). Rizzoli, tough lady cop, befriends Isles (Sasha Alexander), a forensic pathologist with a personality disorder (Bones, anyone?) — though she’s a snappy dresser. I found the “buddy” angle a bit forced and there were more than a few lesbian overtones there, even though they were vying for the same handsome FBI agent.
Pardon my huge digression — the reason it was a TV movie was because everything was resolved. Seriously. Everything. What I thought they were setting up as a season-long, or even series-long story arc was over by the end of the episode, and there are so few points left for continuation that I fear we have another bland procedural on our hands. I’d love to be wrong; I’d love it if somehow The Surgeon could continue terrorizing Rizzoli from his prison cell, or better yet, escape (again) and taunt her in much the same way as Red John taunts Patrick Jane on The Mentalist — except more often.
More than likely, than won’t happen. Billy Burke, who played the FBI agent that Rizzoli and Isles simultaneously drooled over, is only listed as a guest star for the pilot, so we won’t even get that dynamic back. And there’s not a lot that’s good about the regular characters, yet. I always say “yet” because I’m not generally a fan of pilots and the cast hasn’t really had time to establish relationships, create chemistry and make the characters their own — it’s only one episode, after all. But here’s what’s weird for me:
Like I said, it’s very possible that Rizzoli and Isles just needs some time to find its footing before becoming a thing of greatness. Rumor has it that the first season of Bones was nothing to write home about … that’s when I abandoned it (still regretting it now…).
Check it out for yourself and see what you think. Rizzoli and Isles premieres on Monday, July 12 at 10:00 on TNT.
I previewed the premiere too. I think it can make for an interesting premise, and both actresses are fantastic, but the friendship part was awful. At times they looked like old friends; at others it was like they had just met. The buddy angle is key, yet it was very flawed in the pilot.
Darn you made me want to watch “Mystic River” again.
’tis true, nothing bad was ever set in Boston ^^;
Damn it now I want to watch Dawson’s Creek again.
*shakes his finger at Deb* Shame on you! ;-))
*POST AUTHOR*
You don’t know how excited I was that Leverage is still set in Boston — I thought they’d move cities again, but Beantown for the win! :-)