2641 replies to this topic

[mustbekarma]

I can't think of a cute subtitle, so someone will have to suggest one. This is a new drama that will premiere on TNT on July 12 at 10 p.m. The series stars Angie Harmon (Detective Jane Rizzoli) and Sasha Alexander (Doctor Maura Isles). The series is based on the medical thriller novels by Tess Gerritsen. Here's the official home page on TNT.

I'm psyched for this. I love Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander. There are also a lot of cool supporting players, especially the guy who plays Angie Harmon's ex-partner. It's Jack Dalton! Er, I mean Bruce McGill. He plays Detective Vince Korsak, who has the habit of rescuing animals, so I expect to aww! at all the cute puppies and kittens.

I thought of of sub-titling this This Generation's Cagney and Lacey, but I thought that was a tad bit premature.

Oh my god. Lorraine Bracco is on this show. She plays Jane Rizzoli's mother. This ought to be good.

Edited by mustbekarma, Jun 23, 2010 @ 7:11 PM.

[Niuxita]

Oh yay, a thread for this show! I too am really anticipating this because I loved Angie Harmon as a cop on Women's Murder Club (which actually had a similar premise, except with four women. Moment of silence) and loved Sasha on NCIS (I actually stopped watching when she was killed off, I was that upset) and I'm THRILLED that this seems to be shaping up to be a sort of female buddy cop show, of which there are very few on TV (or any at all, really). I just hope the scenes between Jane and Maura don't become all about their man troubles, like aforementioned WMC tended to do.

On the other hand, I find the title kind of... weird? I don't know, it sounds like a travel and cooking show in the Mediterranean. Hee. I don't have a problem with it, but it's just sort of jarring.

Edited by Niuxita, Jun 23, 2010 @ 8:02 PM.

[thelephant]

From the trailers, it looks like they've changed quite a few things from the books (perhaps they couldn't get the rights to The Surgeon?), but I'm still looking forward to it.

[mustbekarma]

On the other hand, I find the title kind of... weird? I don't know, it sounds like a travel and cooking show in the Mediterranean. Hee. I don't have a problem with it, but it's just sort of jarring.

The aforementioned Cagney and Lacey. Abbott and Costello. Cheech and Chong. Laurel and Hardy. Lilo and Stich. Turner and Hooch. Scarecrow and Mrs. King. There's a grand tradition of a show or film being named after the title characters. I can live with Rizzoli and Isles. just don't ask me to pronounce it

[AimingforYoko]

On the other hand, I find the title kind of... weird? I don't know, it sounds like a travel and cooking show in the Mediterranean. Hee. I don't have a problem with it, but it's just sort of jarring.
The aforementioned Cagney and Lacey. Abbott and Costello. Cheech and Chong. Laurel and Hardy. Lilo and Stich. Turner and Hooch. Scarecrow and Mrs. King.

Hardcastle & McCormick, Tenspeed & Brownshoe. Very 80's.
This show does seem to fit with The Closer better than Saving Grace. We'll see how it does.

[BondGirl]

Well, the main thing that they've changed is that Rizzoli, as played by Angie Harmon, is now gorgeous, as opposed to the literal plain Jane that has been described since the first book. I hope the script isn't still written as though Jane is plain or average-looking, with a bitchy attitude towards beautiful women, because I am NOT going to buy Angie Harmon as homely.

[Niuxita]

The aforementioned Cagney and Lacey. Abbott and Costello. Cheech and Chong. Laurel and Hardy. Lilo and Stich. Turner and Hooch. Scarecrow and Mrs. King. There's a grand tradition of a show or film being named after the title characters. I can live with Rizzoli and Isles. just don't ask me to pronounce it

You're right. I guess it's the way the names "sound" together. If they had different names, I wouldn't even have noticed.

[mustbekarma]

Hardcastle & McCormick, Tenspeed & Brownshoe. Very 80's.

Crap. I forgot about Hardcastle & McCormick. How could I forget Starsky & Hutch, too?

You're right. I guess it's the way the names "sound" together. If they had different names, I wouldn't even have noticed.

The names Rizzoli & Isles don't roll off the tongue quite like the other ones, though, do they?

ETA I also forgot Sapphire and Steel. I swear, I'm shutting up now.

Edited by mustbekarma, Jul 4, 2010 @ 10:42 PM.

[SanLynn]

I haven't read the books but Angie Harmon automatically ensures I'll give this at least one episode of my time.

[topanga]

Hardcastle & McCormick, Tenspeed & Brownshoe.

Crap. I forgot about Hardcastle & McCormick. How could I forget Starsky & Hutch, too?

BJ and the Bear? Okay, so they weren't cops.

[attica finch]

I am NOT going to buy Angie Harmon as homely.

I bet in some quarters of Hollywood, she is considered plain. The same quarters that had the lovely Winona Ryder as (what the script described as) the dowdy loser in The Heathers, or the ones that thought Janeane Garofalo was less pretty than Uma Thurman in The Truth About Cats and Dogs.

[PhineasPoe]

I can't think of a cute subtitle, so someone will have to suggest one

Rizzoli & Isles: From the makers of Bartles and Jaymes...


Seriously, the show title sounds like an alcoholic beverage.

[mustbekarma]

Rizzoli & Isles: From the makers of Bartles and Jaymes...

Seriously, the show title sounds like an alcoholic beverage.

I don't like that one so much, PhineasPoe. I keep hoping once the show airs, there will be some grand inspiration. However, if I was going for an alcohol reference, I'd use Martini and Rossi: Asti Spumante, just because Rizzoli sounds Italian to me. However, I still don't think that's very clever, either.

[Scorpiosrule]

I love Angie Harmon as well, but I have reservations regarding the casting of Sasha Alexander. Not that I don't think she's a good actress; she is. But the reason she left NCIS was because she really didn't expect it to take off the way it did and she found it too difficult to work on a series. Maybe she's changed her thinking. I'd like to think so.

I'll give it a shot.

[BruceMO]

My understanding was that Sasha had problems with the athleticism required of the part of Kate (all the running, jumping and asskicking), not with series television in general.

[sp23]

I'm so glad to see a thread for this show. I've been looking forward to it since I saw the first trailer. Love Angie Harmon and love Sasha Alexander so it's a double win for me and an automatic date for Monday nights.

[Susanlea]

But the reason she left NCIS was because she really didn't expect it to take off the way it did and she found it too difficult to work on a series.

Something else to consider about her leaving NCIS was reportedly Don Bellasario kept everyone very late and did a lot of last minute revisions, to the extent that they were there 18+ hours a day and it wasn't until Mark Harmon went on strike to get him removed that the working conditions improved.

[AimingforYoko]

Plus cable series' seasons are half as long.

[rove3]

I'm looking forward to this too. I'd love it if this had a Cagney and Lacey vibe since I used to love that show and the chemistry b/w its female leads. This won't be exactly the same since the Isles character isn't a cop/detective. I used to watch WMC too and thought that was pulled before its time.

BJ and the Bear? Okay, so they weren't cops.

And one half of that pair wasn't even human.

[mustbekarma]

BJ and the Bear? Okay, so they weren't cops.

And one half of that pair wasn't even human.

They still fought the forces of evil, though. Damn, I loved Greg Evigan.

On another note, I really hope Sasha Alexander doesn't get too tired to do this show, either. If she ditches this one, then I'll have to call her Mandy Patinkin, Junior. Oh well, I guess time will tell.

[rove3]

I don't think medical examiners do a lot of running around but, then again, the CSIs in Miami drive around in Hummers so go figure.

[Scorpiosrule]

On another note, I really hope Sasha Alexander doesn't get too tired to do this show, either. If she ditches this one, then I'll have to call her Mandy Patinkin, Junior.

Same here. And I'll join you at that table if she does quit this show as well. One more thing wrt NCIS--in interviews, it was revealed that Sasha told DPB that she really didn't expect the show to take off and it was "hard" and she wanted to quit, the day he was writing S2's finale. But, like I said, I'm hoping she'll stick.

And when DPB was forced out? That's when the quality of NCIS started to plummet. YMMV.

I also enjoyed WMC and was sad when they cancelled it.

[LexQuodOrdo]

I've seen several promos for this show, and at first I wasn't that interested, but now I really want this to be a success. Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander are both my favorite actresses. And this could be the Cagney and Lacey of this generation.

[taiko]

then again, the CSIs in Miami drive around in Hummers so go figure.

As lead vehicle followed by a line of squad cars and with a helicopter escort

[Niuxita]

Interesting article (mildly spoilery for tomorrow's first episode) comparing the two female-led cable shows premiering this week, Rizzoli & Isles and Covert Affairs. R&I seems to be regarded as the better of the two in terms of the portrayal of their female leads, and they say it probably has something to do with the fact that the showrunner is a woman (which is not the case with Covert Affairs) and the books on which it is based were also written by a woman. I'm glad it looks like I won't be disappointed in this show (with respect to the female characters, at any rate), at least for the time being.

Edited by Niuxita, Jul 12, 2010 @ 12:58 AM.

[crowsworks]

I like the interplay with the other cops and Angie's family are kind of interesting and not too cliched.

The Silence of the Lambs vibe of the big-bad was creepy as was their back-story. I like Sasha here. Maybe she's more of a girly-girl than an action hero. In those shoes - she ain't chasing no one. At least she can wear them.

(I love the woman on csi-miami - she totters around like there's a hurricane 8 inches above the ground.)

I like Rizzoli's ring tones.

Good casting with her mom and brother.

The dog was adorable. I like it when characters have pets. People on TV never watch TV or have pets.

[LexQuodOrdo]

I liked it. Did anyone else get a H!ITG! moment with Hoyt? I think he was a demon on Charmed. I liked the whole serial killer and how Rizzoli had a past with him. And of course Sasha ruled in her quirky Queen of the Dead role. I loved how she and Angie work on screen. I especially LOL'd hard on the lesbian joke, cause everybody asks that. Love the cast, so far...

My only main problems are... The pacing for the show was a tad too slow. And it felt like there was absolutely no investigating going on at all. The characterization of Jane is a little cartoony, but I won't past full judgement until I've seen the whole season.

So far I give this show a 3/5, as there is always room for improvement.

Edited by LexQuodOrdo, Jul 12, 2010 @ 11:21 PM.

[sp23]

I liked it. It was a lot grittier than I expected, but very good and scary. I had forgotten that I had read the first book with Jane Rizzoli, The Surgeon, where they introduced Hoyt, and to be honest I didn't like Jane. I understand she's better in the books now, and, of course, with Angie playing Jane, I'm gonna love her. I though Sasha was great, too.

[AuntiePam]

It's on the DVR but I've only watched the first half. I also liked the characters and the witty banter, but I had to roll my eyes when Rizzoli questioned Hoyt. "Who's your student?" like she expected him to 'fess up. Clarice Starling, she ain't. Rolled eyes again when she fussed about being protected. Love Lorraine Bracco as the mom. I always confuse her with Brenda Vaccaro, because of the voice.

[rove3]

Oh man, I didn't know Lorraine Bracco was on this show! I love her! She cracked me up with her "not the good towel" line because I've totally said that to my kids, bleeding be damned.

So Rizzoli has a brother named Frankie but weren't there pictures/sketchings of a little girl and two boys on her parents' wall? So is there an unaccounted for brother somewhere?

I didn't quite get why Rizzoli has been through multiple partners though. But what a freaky, scary experience she went through with Hoyt. Necrophilia...ICK.

Really liked Sasha as Maura Isles, even if she has a romance novel name. :-) "Why do you always look like you're ready for a photoshoot?" LOL.

It wasn't a great pilot but it was a good start. I can see this cast gelling really well. I'm in.