kyrasedgwick

(S05E03) If you were Kyra Sedgwick and you were asked to choose an episode of The Closer for Emmy consideration, this would be a strong candidate. For one thing, Ms. Sedgwick was given a really strong adversary, another likely Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series, Battlestar Galactica's Mary McDonnell. As Captain Sharon Raydor, Force Investigation Division, McDonnell made an immediate impression.

Oh, baby, did she ever! She took over investigating the crime scene, forcing out Major Crimes. Then Brenda met Sharon and the sparks flew. Under different circumstances, these women might have been good friends. Both are forces to be reckoned with, no-nonsense types. Under these circumstances, however, they were oil and water. More on the specifics of the case after the jump.

(S05E02) How could a gruesome, blood-splattered murder scene in a Lincoln Town Car leave no trail of blood outside the vehicle? Why would a kidnapper ask for the unlikely sum of $1,190,476.19 as a ransom? Who was putting the zip in Provenza's step after his hound dog attitude about love last week? All that and more was covered in the episode, and after a rather worrisome venture into the random plot devices in the Season Premiere, The Closer was back on track with a nifty mystery.

In the midst of solving the crime, which alternated between being an abduction/kidnapping or a murder, Brenda was also caring for Kitty. If you've wondered if Brenda had a nurturing side, wonder no more. Brenda's ministering to her pussycat involved an IV drip and injections for kidney troubles. Brenda also enlisted Will as her helper in treating the pet. When it comes to Brenda, Pope still has a soft spot and she can get him to do just about anything -- and Brenda knows it, too.

(S05E01) The Closer season opener was a good news, bad news situation. The good news is that the show is back for the fifth year and the ensemble is clicking along like a finely tuned watch. Although Brenda Leigh is now a "Sadie, Sadie married lady," she's still as obsessed, determined and driven to do her job as ever, so there's been no major shift in the main character, thank goodness. The bad news, however, is that the premiere episode started out like a compelling drama but soon devolved into a case laden with coincidences and leaps of faith in plotting that were beyond my jumping abilities.

The emotional impact was intense when the Priority Homicide team arrived at the crime scene to find four dead bodies, two of them pre-teen children. Flynn was hot under the collar immediately, ready to prejudge the man of the house who had opportunity and possible motive in the quadruple killing.

Kyra Sedgwick was once best known for playing Julia Roberts' sister in 'Let's Give Them Something to Talk About.' But that was before Sedgwick found 'The Closer' (new season starts Mon., June 8, 9PM), the hit TNT crime drama in which she stars as Brenda Leigh Johnson, an Atlanta transplant heading up a special crimes task force in L.A. Think Columbo, with a much nicer trench coat and a desk drawer full of sugary treats.

We caught up with Sedgwick to discuss the new season, the secret to her long and happy union with Kevin Bacon ... and which stripper role she desperately wanted to play.

On The Closer, Kyra Sedgwick rarely gets the chance to dance. She plays a homicide detective in Los Angeles, for goodness sake! But as the harried Brenda Leigh Johnson, the actress didn't even share a waltz with her new TV hubby Fritz after their wedding on the season finale last winter.

However, have you seen Kyra strut her stuff in this new orange juice commercial? Not only is the commercial terrific, it's a little bit of an homage to Kyra's real life husband, actor-director Kevin Bacon.

There's a reason why when you watch The Mentalist, there are always subtle close ups of Simon Baker's eyes or of his mouth when he's talking. The producers know he's hot and they know women are watching. Between him, the cast of Friday Night Lights, and a whole other list of DILF's, there's a lot of male eye-candy on TV right now. But what about the women? Of course television is filled with hot chicks, but who do other women like to watch?

There are certain female characters who, when you watch them, you just want to hang out with. Either you think she'd be a good friend, or exciting to have around, or maybe you just kind of want to be her. This, my friends, is a Girl Crush. Here is my list of Top Ten TV Girl Crushes.

(S04E11) "It's what you do. When you're a hammer, everything in the world looks like a nail." -- Pope to Brenda

Did you notice, as I did, that Brenda was more distressed and unfocused while making decisions for the wedding than she was working on the case? By the end of the episode, Brenda finally settled on the when, the where and the how, so all things considered, it was a good day for Brenda...except for that little thing that happened to Daddy.

Meanwhile, returning after a few months off, the cliffhanger was resolved early on and priority homicide was back at work. However, when is an apparent suicide not a suicide? More on that and the cliffhanger after the jump. Also, Clay Johnson.

(S04E04) Nobody would ever doubt that Chief Brenda Johnson is a smart woman, but how smart was it of her to use Fritz the way she did? That's the question I came away with after seeing this episode. Is closing a case so important for the closer that she'd mess up her personal relationship?

Fritz was rightfully incensed by Brenda's tactics, and yet I could see it from her point of view, too. I guess that's why The Closer remains such a good drama -- the conflicts are real and there are no easy answers.

On Two and a Half Men, Charlie Sheen plays a vulgar playboy, a shallow guy who's more interested in booze, women and having a good time than being responsible and working hard. The role has earned him a couple of Emmy nominations and a lot of money. A lot of money. In fact, in a new poll from TV Guide, Charlie Sheen is the highest paid actor on TV, making $825,000 per episode; in a season of 23 shows, that comes out to nearly $20 million.

That's more than he could make in the movies, and unlike films, Charlie can keep on raking it in on Two and a Half Men for years. The show is a huge hit in syndication, so more episodes will simply mean more money down the road.

Right behind Charlie on the list is fellow CBS leading man, CSI's William Petersen. He's making $600,000 an episode. He's only doing ten episodes this season, but since he's also an executive producer on the series, he's probably making even more.

If you like strong women on TV, the kind you've been seeing on TNT in The Closer and Saving Grace, you'll be happy to hear that the network has more formidible females on tap. TNT has given the greenlight to a new drama called Time Heals. And with the kind of top notch talent behind the scenes, I can't imagine this drama not making it to air.

The guy who is creating the show, John Masius, is an Emmy-winning writer, having grabbed two Emmys when he worked on St. Elsewhere. So, yeah, this is sounding better and better because Masius knows about medical drama and Time Heals is the story of Nancy Hawthorne, a single mother who is the head of nursing at Mercy Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina. She's the type of woman who really cares about her patients and becomes emotionally involved in her job.

(S04E02) Is this our Brenda? So happy, so horny, so friendly and jovial. After last week's heavy duty episode, with the fires and the serial arsonist with the creepy (also very beguiling) smile, this episode found Brenda in a playful mood. Don't you love a well-rounded character?

It was very romantic the way Brenda was awakened by Fritzie, and for a show that tends to show more of the neurotic Brenda than the sexy Brenda, this was a lovely change of pace. And if you can consider a story in which homeless drunks are run over (and over) by cars -- vehicular homicide indeed -- for insurance money a light, comic turn, then this episode qualifies.

The relationship between the viewer and the network is one that requires a delicate balance. As the numbers for DVR penetration continue to climb, it's pretty clear that a great many of us are successfully dodging more and more commercial breaks. And the networks continue to push back, trying different things to get eyeballs on ads. Some are merely annoying. For instance, as much as I like both Kyra Sedgwick and The Closer, I'm annoyed every time Brenda walks out of the corner of my screen while I'm watching another show on TNT.

While that one is annoying, this latest adventure from TBS crosses a line. During an episode of Family Guy (video after the jump), Bill Engvall walks out on the screen, much like the Brenda spots for The Closer. The difference is that Bill holds up a remote and actually pauses the episode before heading into his pitch for his show. When he finishes, he unpauses the show, which runs for two more seconds before going to the regular commercial break. Please, if it's not too much trouble, strap on your sturdiest combat boots and join me in sending a theoretical kick to the crotch of anyone at TBS that didn't think this was the dumbest idea since starting everything at five minutes past the hour.

When I got a knock on the door yesterday morning from the FedEx guy, I got all excited because I thought it was a pair of Cubs tickets that I bought for an upcoming trip I'm taking to Chicago. But when I looked down, I saw a black box. When I turned it over, the box had the label you see above. It's a press kit for TNT's returning hit The Closer, and it shows star Kyra Segdgwick guiltily nibbling on a bunch of cookies. The tag line on the label is "Everyone has something to confess..." Hmm. Interesting. Obviously this label held some strong clues as to what I would find in the box. So I cut the sealing tape, opened it up, and found what I suspected would be in the package...

(S03E14) I'm sorry to say that I didn't like this "special" episode. It was a little too cheesy, over-the-top, and far-fetched. Yes, yes, it was great to see the cast during this time of the year since The Closer only airs during the summer. It felt comforting to reunite with Brenda, Fritz and Lts. Flynn and Provenza... but the story wasn't really worth it. The whole thing didn't suck, but I did feel let down by the episode.

(S03E13) And so ends another season. To tell you the truth, the way The Closer has been running this season, I could go for another 9 or so more episodes before season three ends, but you know what they say about wishing and hands. We'll have to make due with the fact that there is a boatload of shows ready to premiere right around the corner, and take solace in the knowledge that after 41 episodes, this show just keeps getting better.

I suppose I have tipped my hand there. Yes, I really enjoyed this episode. The case got a little bit squirrely there for a moment, but they got it back under control just in time for the good guys to win, and to cap off the season quite nicely. As fun as that was though, my favorite part of the episode was the Fritz/Brenda relationship drama. More on both of those, after the jump.