The Week That Was.....A Viewer's Diary: 7/3-7/9

Pretty good week. Let's get right into it.

Sunday 7/3.

• Ebert & Roeper. A couple of new releases, and some videos for the Fourth.
  War of the Worlds. Ebert: Thumbs Down, Roeper: Thumbs Up
  My Summer of Love. Two Thumbs Up
  Rebound. Two Thumbs Down.
  New DVD Releases:
  Miss Congeniality 2. Two Thumbs Down.
  The Pacifier. Two Thumbs Down.
  DVD's for Independence Day:
  Ebert's Picks: Born on the 4th of July, Yankee Doodle Dandy
  Roeper's Picks: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Eight Men Out

Monday 7/4.

• WWE: Raw. Carlito opened the show with Hulk Hogan hyping up his new reality show. This leads to the arrival of Kurt Angle and a beat down on Hogan, who is saved by HBK. The first match was Big Show and Kane v Edge and Snitsky, decent match finishing with Snitsky being choke slammed by Show. Then we get Big Vis in a handicap match against the Heartthrobs. There was the Bikini Bootcamp for the new potential divas, this segment equals a waste of time on a wrestling show. Fast forward to the main event which finds Hogan getting the pin on Carlito, only to have HBK turn on him during the celebration. **.5
• The Closer. I remember watching and liking it, but I cannot remember a single detail, shame on me.

Tuesday 7/5.

• Rescue Me. What a great series. This week, they are still trying the tough job f getting Tommy back in the house, until Sully's secret is revealed. Franco and Laura make another step, Tommy's dad returns with a new wife, and Sheila can't tell the truth about her pregnancy. This is a great series. ****

Wednesday 7/6.

• The Inside. A rash of murders, staged to look like suicides bring the team out to investigate. They are led to a suicide hotline counselor who takes a more hands on approach to her work. ***
• The Inside. The second of 2 new episodes this week, it focuses on Paul's first big case coming back to haunt him. Copycat crimes, threatened families, and ultimately leading to Web's leaving of the department. ***
• 30 Days. First episode of this show that I've watched. It follows a young man from the Mid West who goes to the Castro district of San Francisco to be immersed in gay culture. I found it to be interesting, but seems to fall under the propaganda header. It seemed to portray the young man as wrong, period. There was no balance to giving any perspective to both sides. I was intrigued by the mini-documentary type approach, as opposed to a reality show (I can't stand reality shows). **.5

Thursday 7/7.

• WWE: Smackdown. I was distracted for much of this show, and did not pay terribly close attention to it. Therefore, I don't have much to tell you.

Friday 7/8.

• Into the West. I had this on in the background, but wasn't paying terribly close attention. I did like seeing Lance Henriksen, but I find my interest waning. I do not think I will be watching the final two episodes, with the impending debuts of Sci-Fi Friday's lineup plus Monk.
• Monk. The first episode of the fourth season is a good one. It has Monk going head to head with another detective, played by Jason Alexander. The show does suffer a bit from the loss of Bitty Schram after season 2. The mixture of whodunit and dry humor is great, this is a show that deserves your attention. ***

Saturday 7/9.

• The Batman. Clearly not a recent episode, but it was new to me. Features the debut of the Joker, as he releases the inmates of Arkham. It also deals with Bruce needing to make appearances to keep attention away from his bativities. Still pales next to The Animated Series. **.5
• Justice League: Unlimited. Continuing the Cadmus drama, the civilians and government are frightened by the League, who appear to have shot at them. Cadmus sends Cara and the Ultimen to take out the Watchtower. The founding members surrender to the government, except for Batman who has other plans. It is revealed that Lex was behind it all, and that behind Lex is Brainiac. ***.5

End Transmission.

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