Law and Order: Criminal Intent was back on USA this weekend with a fine episode. Bobby Goren is one of the most interesting characters the franchise has created. The story involved a way to get him back on the job after his prolonged suspension because of things he did at the end of last season, but it put him at odds with his partner. The Goren/Eames relationship is also fascinating because it seems like Goren is in charge, but Eames is actually the senior officer. I like it when writers do subtle things, as they did in this episode. They demonstrated the emotional distancing between the duo purely through the way Eames addressed him, going from Bobby at the beginning to “Detective” at the end. However, to Goren, she’s always Eames, as if she doesn’t even have a first name (it’s Alexandra, by the way).
In Plain Sight was better than the debut, but only marginally so. Mary’s family is still an annoying parody that I believe the show would be better without. I’m still not hooked, but I’m lingering.
One thing that struck me as interesting in Atonement was how they incorporated sound effects from the action into the soundtrack. There were probably more instances than these two, but they were the ones that stood out the most: the obvious use of typewriter clacking, and the more subtle use of the sound of Robbie’s mother wailing away at the police car, which merged into the soundtrack. Pretty clever, but perhaps a little too clever because it drew attention to itself in a way that pulled me out of the movie briefly.
I’m nearing the end of Still Waters. The book has an interesting conspiracy theory subplot—I have no clue what that’s about yet. The main character also has a gangster “friend” he goes to for help, sort of like the Rebus/Big Ger relationship from Ian Rankin’s novels. It’s not an amazing book, but I’m enjoying it.
I started my Storytellers Unplugged essay this morning—it’s due to be posted next Monday. Once that’s done, I have a short story I want to write before NECON, which gives me about a month.
