Reviews

I just binge-watched the first three episodes and a third of Episode 4 of Season 1 of Black Spot. I'm still processing my initial impression, but speaking in broad, sweeping generalities, Major Laurène Weiss, played by Suliane Brahim, reminds me of FBI Agent Dana Scully, minus the doctor in medicine degree, Nounours, aka Teddy Bear, played by Hubert Delattre, reminds me of FBI Agent Fox Mulder, without an apartment, and Prosecutor Franck Siriani, played by Laurent Capelluto, reminds me of, lacking Siriani's eccentricities, FBI Assistant Director William Skinner in The X-Files (1993-'02), or at least "I Want to Believe" they do. In The X-Files, Mulder was the believer and Scully was the skeptic. In Black Spot, the roles are reversed. Major Weiss is the believer and Teddy Bear is the skeptic. I'm also witnessing strong acting, as in not acting, and, based on the French subtitles, listening to believable dialog, what police officers might say to each other on the job, reminiscent of the French TV police procedural and legal drama series Spiral, aka Engrenages, all the way around. In terms of the storyline, my first thought is The X-Files, Season 1, Episode 1, Pilot, when teenager Karen Swenson is seen fleeing through the forest In Bellefleur, Oregon. When she falls, a dark figure approaches, and they both become enveloped in light. Swenson's body is later found by Bellefleur detectives, with two small marks on her back. Speaking of the Pacific Northwest and, as Chris Carter said, "go where the forests are," the locations in Black Spot look like the first five seasons of The X-Files before the series moved from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to Los Angeles. Atmospherically, Black Spot gives me a vibe of Twin Peaks (1990-'91), The Shining (1980), and The Blair Witch Project (1999). I'm Looking forward to watching the entirety of this French-Belgian television thriller as soon as I pour myself another cup of cold brew coffee, but before I do, I'm turning the lights on in the living room, the dining room, and the kitchen.

Judgement Day and Judgement Day: Part 2 were originally aired one after the other on CBS as the Season 5 finale. They are my favorite NCIS episodes, starting from the pilot, Yankee White, S1, Ep1, all the way to the beginning of Season 11 when Cote de Pablo as Ziva David exited stage left. I like these episodes so much that every few years I watch them again as I just did on Netflix. In addition to reminding me of The X-Files, my favorite TV series of all time, I love everything about these episodes including the story, the music, the locations, the casting (The story could not have been told as well without Muse Watson as Michael Franks, an excellent character actor.), the production values, the cinematography, post-production, the editing, and the writing. The dialog between Michael Weatherly's Anthony DiNozzo and de Pablo's David as well as Lauren Holly's Jenny Shepard and Watson's Franks is snappy, concise, believable, and, when it comes to listening to their conversations, like music to my ears. After de Pablo departed NCIS I stopped watching the series. It's just not the same without her. "Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end," but sadly for this former NCIS fan they did. To de Pablo and Holly I say, best of luck in all your future endeavors. Your acting is sorely missed. Your characters are gone, but not forgotten.