Another editing pass through the work in progress. Trimmed by an additional 200 words. I’ll probably send it out tomorrow.
For a long time I’ve had a story on the short list for consideration for inclusion in Thrillers 3, the next ITW anthology. Found out today that I didn’t make the cut. Oh, well.
The new configuration of Survivor could be interesting. Rob and Russell obviously have big targets on their backs, but they’re also strong, savvy players, so you’d think the other contestants might want to make use of some of their strengths before giving them the heave-ho. Especially since they might come back later to haunt them. Phillip is a real trip. I noticed that the producers put a question mark after his stated profession (former government agent?) as if to say they don’t believe him, either. He made for a lively tribal council, that’s for sure. I thought Kristina made a gutsy move in holding back the immunity idol. It would have been funny if one more vote had gone her way. Next week we get to see how the Redemption Island part of the contest will play out. Will be interesting to see how much of the hour that facet takes up.
I watched the new Criminal Minds spinoff, Suspect Behavior, last night. It wasn’t wretched. However, it also did nothing to distinguish itself from any other procedural, so I don’t know what the point in having it on the air is. Forest Whitaker is always interesting to watch, but even so. The case they handled didn’t seem to require a force any more elite than the normal BAU.
Okay, who cheered when Justin Bieber when down in a hail of gunfire at the end of CSI? It was a strong episode, especially the part with the booby-trapped bomb in the warehouse. A good call-back to the previous Bieber episode, but you’d think the CSIs would have learned about pressure switches and dead bodies when dealing with this guy and his family. The chess match between Ray and Haskell was gripping, though Haskell was overplaying his hand at times. “Who’s the victim, I ask you?” he pleads. Ray’s revelation that he also had the “monster” gene took him by surprise, but he was prepared for any eventuality and no doubt we’ll see him again.
Absolutely no mention of Van Pelt’s engagement on this week’s The Mentalist, which put Lisbon on the disabled list so we could learn more about Hightower (of whom Patrick said, “I didn’t even know you had legs”). Patrick knew she was upset about something and had the water-cooler rumors to reinforce his suspicions, but he should have known better than to tell her to get mad and let it all out because you just knew that was going to come at the most inopportune time and that he’d bear the brunt of it. The old “I was aiming for his head” line felt a little trite. Heard that one before. Truth was, we really didn’t learn much more about her. And, geez, weren’t those the grouchiest prospectors you’ve ever seen? The couple by the stream getting the pitch, they were ornery. And the woman in the store, too. Patrick Jane’s words of wisdom for this week: “You can tell a lot about a place by the quality of the eggs.”
