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5/10
Suspend Your Belief Even More Than Usual
15 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
There are three plots in this episode. The first plot involves Magnum trying to steal the Ferrari, in an attempt to circumvent Higgins' new security upgrade. When a butterfly flies in front of a motion sensor, the Dobermans come running. Magnum sends them running off using an app on his phone that sends out high frequency sounds. He sprays something (it looks like a can of deoderant) on the sensor rendering it useless. Magnum then gets in the Ferrari which is about 10 yards away from the sensor. However, the dogs reappear, snarling, which causes Magnum to panic and call for Higgins. In order for that to work, a) the motion sensor had to be able to alert the dogs and send them right to the Ferrari; b) Higgins had to have been in the office (or whereever the noise meters sent their signal) for her to know something was up; and c) She had to have the earmuffs ready and be able to strap them on to both dogs in about a minute's time. BTW, they were human-type earmuffs that didn't fit properly and wouldn't be able to stop the high pitch noise. They didn't look like noise-cancelling headphonse either.

The second plot is a damsel-in-distress scenario. Magnum and Higgins are initially hired to find Kai, who is an MMA fighter, because her father hasn't heard from her for 4 hours. Apparently she went to the wrong terminal at the airport and lost her phone. Magnum and Higgins find her and it turns out that a gang wants her to throw a fight or her father will be killed. As Kai's fight progresses, the father is found and saved. Kai is told and she promptly wins the fight. Magnum and Higgins are outnumbered when they meet up with the gang outside the MMA venue. Outnumbered until the cavalry show up, complete with a helicopter that sprays water on them (must be a new police tactic that I haven't heard of.) This part of the episode only requires the normal suspension of belief. We can totally believe that it's easy to find a kidnapped guy that could be on any of a bunch of islands. And that it happened in the nick of time so Kai didn't have to throw her fight. And that HPD showed up just in time to save Magnum and Higgins from sleeping with the fish.

The third plot involved a stolen artifact. A land developer, Owen Westbury, had recently acquired some Hawaiian artifacts. He had purchased them from a local antiquities dealer, Mr. King, that had a reputation for looting "hallowed sites." He asked Kumu to authenticate them. Among the artifacts was a skull that Kumu thought belonged to a boy that fought against Kamehameha. So Kumu stole it with the intent of giving it to the Cultural Center. She was caught and bail was posted by Magnum and Higgins. The M.E. carbon dates the skull to the 18th century which convices Kumu that she's right. At the end of the episode, Kumu and all the regular cast were observing a ceremony before reinterring the skull in the cave where it was originally buried. HPD shows up and threatens to arrest everyone. However, the M.E. produces a skull that she brought from her office that was used as a training skull. She claims that it looks enough like the real skull that Westbury wouldn't know the difference. Magnum claims that even if Westbury did notice, he wouldn't say anything because he would end up in jail himself because he knew the skull was illegally acquired by King. So HPD goes along with it. What's wrong with this story? Well, usually if a person is going to pay a huge amount for something, he'll have it authenticated before he buys it. And how does HPD know where Kumu is at that exact moment? Supposedly the cave is in a cliff, but no cliff was shown and cars can come right up to the cave. Also Westbury could very well have said something if he had seen that the skull was different - after all, he had reported the theft which had started this story. As far as HPD telling a fib, I guess the end justifies the means.
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Hard Kill (2020)
1/10
Boring
29 November 2020
The performances by everyone including Willis are wooden. It's difficult to keep one's interest even though the plot had a lot of potential.
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Quantico (2015–2018)
1/10
No empathy
11 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Every other agent in the FBI and CIA are traitors. Even every other recruit are traitors. I just figured that they're all corrupt so why should I care about the couple good ones. That along with the constant flashbacks makes the show hard to watch in more ways than one. It kept me from getting to know the characters because there were too many of them and we never spent enough time with them at one time. The show kept going from past to present constantly.
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NCIS: Los Angeles: Answers (2019)
Season 11, Episode 11
1/10
Zero action
9 December 2019
Just a lot of teenage angst from a lot of 30 year-olds.
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Criminal Minds: Lauren (2011)
Season 6, Episode 18
1/10
Dumb criminals are the best
14 September 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Man lowers woman into vat of bad stuff. FBI shows up. Bad man stops lowering woman and goes off to get himself killed. This whole series is full of cartoon-like bad guys. Does anyone else find themselves yelling at the TV saying to the bad guy: "just shut up and kill him/her"? Bad guys with machine guns fire 1,000 rounds at agents, missing everyone. Agent takes one shot and hits the bad guy.

A corporate executive is interrogated. Exec says the information is covered by multinational secrecy agreement. FBI agent threatens to ruin the company. Exec spills all the secrets. The agent could have saved time by just yelling "boo."

The ending to this episode is off the rails. Prentiss supposedly dies but then then is shown getting money and passports from JJ. The whole team is in the hospital waiting for an update. Would they not want to see the body of the person they all loved so much? Is there no funeral? Wouldn't they see thru an imposter if the body was switched?

The number of laws broken by this team and especially Garcia is beyond imagining. From warrantless searches to interviewing minors without parental consent to accessing student and patient records...the list is almost limitless. And half of what Garcia provides would be implausible if not impossible to obtain. In a rustic town of less than 1,000 we're supposed to believe the school has years of records computerized. And that it has a hospital and its records are computerized. And even though Garcia has to use a satellite uplink to get internet access, the school and hospital computers are online 24/7.

The acting is atrocious. Some reviewers have said Seaver's character has the personality of a broomstick. She's a shining light compared to some of the others. Hotchner would be better if he were drawn as a stick figure. The only thing he does well is scowl because it comes naturally to him. Vangsness should join overactors anonymous. Her overt sexual banter with Moore would get both of them fired after the first time Moore calls her "baby girl." And they've got to be sleeping together.

This show is like a train wreck. Jane Lynch, Jason Alexander and dozens more guest stars steal the show. That's what makes the show worth watching, in spite of the writing.
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Criminal Minds: What Happens at Home... (2010)
Season 6, Episode 10
2/10
Hochner Scowls Again
13 September 2019
Yet another episode that shows the casting director's sole criterion for this role is not acting, but a face with a constant scowl.
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Criminal Minds: House on Fire (2009)
Season 4, Episode 19
1/10
Do the writers hate the FBI?
31 August 2019
Like most shows, the writers depend on viewers suspending belief on a few things. I wonder if it bothers Kirsten Vangsness that her character is totally unbelievable? Normally 90 percent of the information she imparts couldn't/wouldn't be computerized. But this episode takes it over the top. Student records have been protected by FERPA since the 70's. Medical records have been protected by HIPPA since the 90's. It would require a court order to gain access. But Garcia hacks into schools and hospitals at will getting information on everyone without regard to due process. The writers must want us to believe that the FBI is big brother or that they just want to show the FBI as an institution that will break any law they feel like to catch the bad guy. Either way the FBI is to be feared, not respected.
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1/10
Cliche Filled
17 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This episode was terrible. Everything was predictable including the part where the soldiers arrive just in time... to do nothing. Even El going to live with Winona Rider was predictable.

I'm looking forward to season 4. It can't be worse than this season.
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Homeland: All In (2018)
Season 7, Episode 11
1/10
Unbelievable
12 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The writing on this episode was terrible. The plot is totally unbelievable. One Russian intelligence agency storming another agency's building with no resistance and no police response. And of course Carrie convinces a Russian operative that it would be better for her to come to the US than to stay in Russia; all in two minutes. And that's not to mention that the CIA has floor plans to "the safest building in Moscow." And the team has access to a satellite that happens to be over Moscow and it happens to be a sunny winter's day. Its a wonder that Berensen could put together a top level conference with Russian intelligence in a few hours time; and with no Kremlin representatives. It's no wonder the Soviet Union fell apart if their intelligence people brought their operatives to such meetings. It's the last part of season 7 so the plot has gone way past the series it was based on, so don't blame the original series. I guess the writers wanted to pad their resumes when they pitch the next Pink Panther movie.
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