The Closer - Close to the End

Tonight, the first of the last six episodes of The Closer airs. The TNT detective show is a classic ensemble show with quirky characters who work together to solve a crime each episode. Even after seven years, the show has a fresh, modern feel with interesting camera angles, well-thought out costumes, and the use of music giving some crime scenes a "music video" element.

I've watched the show from the beginning.  Brenda Leigh Johnson is the main character. In novels, she would be the "point of view" character. In the first episode she appears in the Los Angeles Police Department as the new "Deputy Chief" of a major crimes unit. Originally from Atlanta, and CIA-trained, Brenda has a reputation as a Closer – in other words, she gets confessions that lead to convictions

Conflict is built into her appointment – the detectives who report to her resent an outsider coming into the department and grabbing a coveted supervisory position, others in line for the job feel cheated and work to undermine her, and her new boss, Assistant Chief Will Pope who was someone with whom she'd had an affair some years back while working in D.C., is less than helpful in smoothing her transition. It took several seasons for her to establish good working relationships with her team of detectives – trust came very slowly.

Over seven years Brenda has done what any good character does – she's grown and changed based on experiences that the audience has shared with her. She married her FBI friend Fritz and we attended the wedding and the not so smooth ever after. She learned to drive in L.A. and find her away around, much like she learned to navigate the L.A. Police Department. We became acquainted with her foibles – her use of chocolate to self-medicate during times of stress, her oversized purse (a security blanket substitute in my opinion), and her distain for sugar coating the truth. We learned to like her, but it wasn't automatic.  A loner, she never wanted a pet but was forced to take one that came with a dead hooker's house. Finding affordable real estate in L.A. was a problem so as soon as the crime scene tape came down, Brenda moved in. She fed the cat but refused to name it – her attempt to keep from getting attached. It didn't work. Over the years "Kitty" gave Brenda the unconditional love she craved. When the cat neared the end of its life, Brenda finally admitted just how much emotion she'd invested in the animal.

The next six weeks will be interesting. Will the "mole" in the department be revealed? Will Brenda continue to deal with the fall-out from the "Shooting Newton" murders and her role in the murder of the killer? Will she and Fritz decide to have children? Will her father recover from his thyroid cancer or will that be the reason for Brenda leaving L.A.?

I can't believe I'm the only one who'll be sorry to say goodbye to Brenda Leigh Johnson. The character, along with the actress who played her, broke a lot of glass ceilings in the female detective realm. She solved crimes while dressed in designer heels, flouncy skirts, sweater sets, and wide brimmed hats. She was a good shot, but never overpowered a suspect physically. She really did "fight like a girl" and only survived by outwitting her opponents and with the help of her team. Brenda did the best she could with what she had.

I guess it's too late to invite her to join the Stiletto Gang.

Rhonda
aka The Southern Half of Evelyn David

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Zoned for Murder - Kindle (Exclusive at Amazon this month)
Trade Paperback

Brianna Sullivan Mysteries - e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Lottawatah Twister - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Missing in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

The Ghosts of Lottawatah - trade paperback collection of the Brianna e-books
Book 1 - I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries (includes the first four Brianna e-books)
Book 2 - A Haunting in Lottawatah (includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th Brianna e-books)

Sullivan Investigations Mystery
Murder Off the Books Kindle - Nook - Smashwords - Trade Paperback
Murder Takes the Cake Kindle - Nook - Smashwords - Trade Paperback
Riley Come Home (short story)- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

Romances
Love Lessons - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

My Summer TV!

By Evelyn David

Remember when summer television was a vast wasteland of reruns! Not so much anymore.

With all the cable stations available, the competition for viewers is tough and in order to compete many networks now offer shows that air new material in the summer months.

Some of my favorites have returned this month, more next month.

Rizzoli and Isles is airing new episodes. Often it's just too cute for words with the junior high "girl buddy" theme, but out of loyalty to the brilliant novels by Tess Gerritsen, I watch. Lorraine Bracco is excellent as "Jane's" mother. She's probably my favorite character on the tv series.

Falling Skies is returning for its second season. Aliens have taken over the world and Dr. John Carter from ER fame, okay Noah Wyle is famous for other roles now, but he'll always be Dr. Carter to me – anyway he's leading a group of survivors who are fighting back. Special effects are well done and the plot's interesting. Last season ended with Dr. Carter about to be sucked up into an alien spacecraft.

For light fun, I enjoy USA Network's Royal Pains. Nothing like spending the summer in The Hamptons seeing how the other half vacations. Great scenery and likeable characters.

If the temperatures get too hot, there's always Ice Road Truckers. I lived in Alaska for a couple of years and I enjoy the show for the scenery. I also liked watching trucker "Lisa" compete with the guys, but for some reason she's not back this season. The series probably won't have the same appeal for me.

My favorite, The Closer, is back in July with its final six episodes. The star, Kyra Sedgwick, has decided she'd "closed" enough cases and is headed back to New York and husband Kevin Bacon. Not sure how the writers are going to end "Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson's" employment with the LAPD. My bets are either with a pregnancy or a long overdue return to visit her parents in Atlanta. The rest of "Chief Johnson's" squad will immediately, as in the hour following the final Closer episode, become the ensemble cast of the new spinoff series, Major Crimes. The incomparable actress, Mary McDonnell, "Stands With a Fist" from Dancing with Wolves and more recently of Battlestar Galactica fame, headlines the new show. I think it should be a great addition to TNT's network, if Mary's character, "Captain Sharon Raydor," can manage to get out from under the shadow of "Chief Johnson." Only time will tell.

Anyone planning to watch the new Dallas? I will if only for the nostalgia factor. When I was in high school the marching band played the theme from Dallas at all our football games. "Who shot J.R.?" was the first cliffhanger I remember my generation talking about for an entire summer.

I'd write more but I this is shark week on the Syfy channel. Jersey Shore just got attacked by red-eyed albino sharks and I've got to see how the movie ends.

What are you watching this summer?

Rhonda
aka The Southern Half of Evelyn David

Zoned for Murder - Kindle (Exclusive at Amazon this month)

Brianna Sullivan Mysteries - e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah- Kindle (Exclusive at Amazon this month)
The Holiday Spirit(s) of Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Lottawatah Twister - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Missing in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

The Ghosts of Lottawatah - trade paperback collection of the Brianna e-books
Book 1 - I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries (includes the first four Brianna e-books)
Book 2 - A Haunting in Lottawatah (includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th Brianna e-books)

Sullivan Investigations Mystery
Murder Off the Books Kindle - Nook - Smashwords - Trade Paperback
Murder Takes the Cake Kindle - Nook - Smashwords - Trade Paperback
Riley Come Home (short story)- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

Romances
Love Lessons - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

Summer Television Season

In the spirit of leaving economic problems, natural disasters, disease, political uprisings, and the end of the world to others to contemplate, I'm offering up a discussion this week on the all important subject of "summer television."

I'm not ashamed to admit that I love movies and television. I've always loved dramas best. My earliest memories of watching television involved not the cartoons, but old movies, soap operas, and detective series. But when summer rolled around there wasn't that much new to enjoy. When I was growing up summer television was rerun land.

Sometime in May the regular series would end their seasons and would start over from the beginning. With no vcrs or dvrs, your only chance of watching a missed episode of a favorite series was during the summer. That all changed when cable brought more channels to your screen than you had the time to view. Now not only are series episodes repeated during the middle of the winter, but you can view them on other "sister" networks the following week, in syndication on late night, and on-line. Cable is also responsible for creating the "made for summer" series.

Today's summer television landscape is filled with first run episodes of series developed just for the summer season! Some of them are just as good or better than the prime time fall series.

My returning favorites are:

In Plain Sight - a series about a female U.S. Marshall working in the Witness Protection Program in New Mexico. "Mary Shannon" is a tough, take charge heroine, whose weakness is her emotionally and financially needy mother and sister.

The Closer - this is the last season for this popular ensemble series of detectives in Los Angeles. Staring Kyra Sedgwick. Rumors are that a spin off series, Major Crimes, will debut next year, picking up where this last season ends.

America's Got Talent - great variety/talent show! Fun for all ages and perfect for the summer. Hosted by Sharon Osbourne, Piers Morgan, and Howie Mandel.

Covert Affairs - the series about a young CIA agent returns. It's fast, fun, and very stylish.

Rizzoli & Isles - a series loosely developed from Tess Gerritsen mysteries. It was a big hit last year. I enjoyed it, but not as much as the books.

Memphis Beat - a fun, cop show set in the Blues capital of the world. This sleeper series hasn't gotten enough press. It's an excellent choice for light summer viewing.

The new series, I'm most interested in seeing? Falling Skies - from Steven Spielberg, a post alien invasion series starring Noah Wylie. I loved him in ER. I hope this series is a hit. Nothing like a good alien invasion to kick off the summer!

What are your summer television viewing plans?

Rhonda
the Southern Half of Evelyn David

Brianna Sullivan Mysteries - e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

The Sullivan Investigation Series
Murder Drops the Ball (Spring 2011)
Murder Takes the Cake- Paperback - Kindle
Murder Off the Books- Paperback - Kindle
Riley Come Home (short story)- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

Romances

Love Lessons - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords