It’s a good thing they didn’t have a good handle on this morning’s weather or else everything in Houston might have been canceled again. As it turns out, we saw more winter precipitation at our house today than during the previous two events. My wife (and several others) referred to the precip as “dippin’ dots,” something with which I wasn’t familiar but apparently it’s some kind of ice cream treat. What fell was a combination of hail, sleet and snow that pebbled on top of things like our patio table. I heard it pinging against the windows a little after 7 a.m. and reports came in on Twitter from all around the Houston metro area. It didn’t last long, didn’t accumulate and appeared to cause few problems on the roads.
I finished Galveston by Nic Pizzolatto. Review forthcoming, even though it’s not a new book. I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading his recent short story collection. The novel has a bit of a Pelecanos vibe. Now I’m reading Murder in the Ball Park by Robert Goldsborough, his latest Nero Wolfe novel. I also posted my review of Killer by Jonathan Kellerman, the best Alex Delaware novel in a while.
The one-hour pilot of Bosch, the Amazon Studios adaptation of the Michael Connelly novels featuring LAPD homicide detective Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch, is now streaming for free on Amazon. The plot is based on his novel City of Bones and the biggest shame of this is that the story isn’t wrapped up in the pilot. There are two main storylines. In one, Harry (Titus Welliver) is being sued in civil court over an alley shooting two years earlier. The LAPD could have settled, but Harry being the stubborn S.O.B. that he is, refused. By the end of the pilot, the jury has been selected and opening arguments presented. Because he’s bored to tears by the whole thing, Harry ends up getting involved in what could be a cold case. A doctor (Hershel from The Walking Dead) finds the humerus of a child in the woods behind his place. The forensic pathologist (an excellent Alan Rosenberg from L. A. Law) figures it was a little boy who was terribly abused. Bosch also has time to get involved with a “new” beat cop played by Annie Wersching from 24.
I never had a preconceived notion of what Harry Bosch looked like, or if I did I thought he looked like Michael Connelly (who has a subtle cameo in the pilot), so I’m rolling along with Welliver (the Man in Black from Lost), who seems to have the character down cold, including a jaw muscle tremor thing. It’s all shot in L.A. and the scenes at the homicide division were actually filmed in Hollywood Station, with real officers and real perps in the background. It all looks really good, including the rainy scene at the beginning. Bosch’s house is something I’d envisioned before and the location they got for it is perfect, as is the ambiance of the jazz music when he’s at home. The show is off to a good, strong start and I hope it gets picked up as a series. Since this is streaming, you’ll find more than your fair share of the word which you’ll never hear on Sons of Anarchy, even, so it’s TV-MA. Check it out at the link above.
There were a lot of developments on this week’s Justified. First off we got Alan Tudyk from Firefly playing Theo Tonin’s guy. He’s out to figure out who knows what about Sammy’s murder, so he shoots a Canadian (after tossing a toonie his way) and, later, shows up with a shotgun / submachine gun combo which is one of the most awesome weapons I’ve ever seen. He gets into a verbal joust with Art (“I got a friend in Jesus and I support youth baseball. Whatever you’re selling, not buying.”) and a standoff in a diner during which Wynn Duffy tries to defuse tensions by asking if anyone minds if he orders his meal. Showdown ensues with Raylan saving the day and advising Art to spend some time on the firing range. I did not think the episode was going to end well for Art. Any cop who is fixin’ to retire generally has a bad day coming. I guess Raylan’s subtle confession at the end qualifies.
Then there’s Boyd’s way of settling his problems, which includes faking Paxton’s suicide and hiring a terminally ill coal miner to take care of the hinky sheriff. All’s for naught, though, because the midget stormtrooper at Ava’s jail throws a major monkey wrench into the works. And then there’s the Haitian, who challenged the Crowe brother who looks like an outcast from Duck Dynasty. Everyone thought he was going to be more of a player this season but I guess no one could figure out to do with him, so they did to him what you do to characters you can’t figure out anything to do with. And then there’s Boyd and Hot Rod and Johnny and Hot Rod and Hot Rod’s guys vs. Johnny and Hot Rod’s guys vs. Hot Rod. Lots of switch-ups to keep things interesting there. And finally there was Dewey’s existential angst. An oddly filmed scene that took a while to reveal its composition completely. Dewey giving away his most prized possessions (they weren’t exactly appreciated by their recipients) does not bode well for his mental state. Another good season so far.
One of the frustrating things about plots like last night’s Criminal Minds is that if someone is kidnapped so the thugs can extract their passwords from them, and people know why they’ve been kidnapped, why not just change the codes. I know they tried to hand-wave it way with mumbo-jumbo, but I didn’t buy it.
