CRIT-O-MATIC.Byline: David Kronke ``Eyes'' (ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. Channel 7; 10 tonight) Logline: Blithe blithe adj. blith·er, blith·est 1. Carefree and lighthearted. 2. Lacking or showing a lack of due concern; casual: spoke with blithe ignorance of the true situation. drama about a high-tech L.A. private-eye firm - and before your mind cascades back to ABC's last blithe drama about a high-tech L.A. private-eye firm, the lamentable ``Snoops,'' keep an open mind (although the firm's cartoonishly polished office is vaguely reminiscent of that show). Tim Daly stars as the wryly analytical Harlan Judd, whose company tackles requisitely intricate cases with keen elan. Pros: Daly's charms have never been used so effectively - he's wittily smooth without seeming smug. When, in the middle of a crisis, he asks his attorney (Laura Leighton), ``Do you have a boyfriend?'' and when she replies with an exasperated, ``God!'' his nicely deadpan response is, ``That's a weird answer.'' And there are also some intriguing, multilayered and well-played characters whose behavior in future episodes is tantalizingly tan·ta·lize tr.v. tan·ta·lized, tan·ta·liz·ing, tan·ta·liz·es To excite (another) by exposing something desirable while keeping it out of reach. unpredictable: Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon's Nora, who is efficient yet perhaps not entirely reliable, and Rick Worthy's Chris, who as a gay African-American has steeled himself physically yet may harbor some psychological vulnerabilities. Cons: There's a dopey subplot about two employees having an affair, cuckolding another employee - do you really think surveillance experts would behave so blitheringly? Also blithering blith·er intr.v. blith·ered, blith·er·ing, blith·ers To blather. [Probably blend of blather and dither. are the show's translators: In a future episode, subtitles inaccurately translate a French epithet as ``Gee whiz.'' (Actually, it's pretty funny; this probably belongs in the ``pro'' column.) In a nutshell: Tonight's episode ends with a brilliant cliffhanger cliff·hang·er n. 1. A melodramatic serial in which each episode ends in suspense. 2. A suspenseful situation occurring at the end of a chapter, scene, or episode. 3. . Consider the network dramas of the recent past whose first episodes concluded with plot threads left hanging that were immediately addicting: ``CSI CSI Crime Scene Investigator CSI CompuServe, Inc. CSI Commodity Systems, Inc. CSI Commodity Systems Inc. (Boca Raton, FL) CSI Crime Scene Investigation (CBS TV show) CSI Christian Schools International ,'' ``Desperate Housewives'' and ``Lost.'' Creator John McNamara has cooked up a finely polished, deceptively entertaining genre show that also boasts ingenious possibilities for internecine in·ter·nec·ine adj. 1. Of or relating to struggle within a nation, organization, or group. 2. Mutually destructive; ruinous or fatal to both sides. 3. Characterized by bloodshed or carnage. back-stabbing. If you watch tonight's episode - an admittedly iffy proposition, given that it's on opposite established hits ``Law & Order'' and ``CSI: New York'' - you'll be hard-pressed not to want to investigate it in the future. Our rating: Three stars CAPTION(S): photo Photo: no caption (Tim Daly) |
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