DJariya

Synopsis:




Well, another season will be in the books. Some notes:

Renewed for 3rd season 16 episodes:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...962f7ee502022#

David Maples, the creator of IPS, Paul Stupin, a co-executive producer, are not returning next season. They will be only consultants. Lesley Ann Warren (Jinx) and Todd Williams (Bobby Dershowitz) will not return as a series regulars.

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watc...s_reveals.html

Deftones

Sucks that Dershowitz won't be around anymore, but he really was sort of a worthless character. Only ever was used when a case intersected.

DJariya

Well, hopefully with the changes they plan to make, we will get more compelling cases for Mary and Marshall.

I wonder if Eleanor (Holly Maples) will return next season since her husband was essentially fired from the show.

wmansir

It should be interesting. I didn't know Jinx was leaving. She's been way underutilized this season for a regular. After the DUI episode she virtually disappeared.

rfduncan

Well another meh episode. Hardly cared about the story. Now we have to wait 7+ months for a new episode to resolve the "cliffhanger".

wmansir

I really didn't care for this episode. The witness was uber annoying. Nobody could have thought for a minute that Mary was going to die. The stuff with Marshal was about the only good part, although I will admit to FFing during the music montage. The Who Shot JR cliffhanger was a big fail. At least give us some juicy possibilities to chew over.

writer106

This episode sounds good.

MrX

I hope so. Mary and her taking shots at each other was one of the few entertaining things from this season.

DJariya

I have to disagree with the 2 negative comments here, I thought this was actually one of the best episodes of this season.

Sure, Francesca was a little annoying and her plight/storyline wasn't that interesting, but I thought she helped lighten the mood of the episode. The scenes were her and Mary at the mansion IMO actually had some charm to them. I liked the scene where they just bullshitted and smokes cigars. I also thought the scene where Mary took her out to the bar and they saw Raph's commercial was humorous. Most importantly, Mary actually wasn't do god damned uptight in this episode and was likeable for a change.

The thing that bugged me was the turn in her character near the end when she acted like the whole shooting wasn't her fault and pinned the blame on Mary.

Fred Weller was actually really good in this episode. He's been kind of annoying and weird most of the season, but he did a very good job when the episode took a darker turn. Even though her husband got the shit can, I hope USA will keep Holly Maples on as Eleanor and maybe even make her a series regular next season since they dropped Lesley Ann Warren and Todd Williams.

I hope the new showrunner and his writers will work hard and come up with a good payoff to this cliffhanger. Sure, the whole "Who shot" the main character isn't exactly a fresh storytelling element, but for what was otherwise a very mediocre season, it was a good change of pace and added a nice dramatic touch to the season finale.

Oh boy, April 2010 (which I assume this will premiere is going to be a long wait)

BTW, I thought Raph's commercial was hilarious.

Some of you probably didn't notice, but this episode was directed by Mary's husband Michael Morris.

wmansir

From the article linked in the OP:This is why this episode didn't work as a season finale. It wasn't written to be one.

@DJ
I agree the scenes with Mary just hanging out with Francesca were OK. She rarely gets to hang with a girlfriend, so it was nice. But I still think the character came off as too breezy. The whole witness storyline seemed forced. I get the feeling they wanted a carefree character to pick up Mary, but they also needed Mary not to have the control she usually has over a witness, so they tacked on the whole CIA/revolutionary thing even though the it made little sense and didn't fit the character.

I completely agree Holly Maples has been a great addition to the show and should be a regular. The article above says they are planning to focus less on Mary's home life, so maybe that will happen.

movieking

Getting rid of Jinx is a no brainer, but I like Dershowitz. However, I never saw him as a main character, so as long as he pops up every now and then, it should be fine. Not sure I like the direction where the show is going, based on the Eonline article.

kaisha no saru

The episode was OK - not great. The flow issue referenced in the article was apparent (in that its part 1 of a 2-parter, not the network BS about flow). Honestly not sure if next April I'll remember to watch the show though, by then Psych will be off and I'm guessing it will drop off my radar (along with Royal Pains which I'm guessing will have a similar season run). I don't see why it can't come back winter 2010 (preferably January) which is still several months away but way sooner than April.

Red Dog

I think the episode was decent, but the cliffhanger was just stupid.

slop101

Good thing the core cast on this show are mostly good actors because the majority of the guests are some of the worst actors I've ever seen.

movieking

Finally saw it last night, and it was pretty awful, IMO. It was obvious that the guy they thought shot Mary wasn't the one who did it, since they didn't show him doing it. I am guessing it was someone trying to take out Francesca. Or maybe it was Raf because he is sick of Mary being a bitch and telling him how to live his life. Even though there is no chance it would happen, I'd love to see that. Seriously Raf, dump that bitch.

DJariya

You know even though Mary comes across as bitch, she does have a heart (sometimes) I know she can be really unlikeable, but that's just part of her schtick.

Jadzia

I really don't like Raf as a love interest for Mary. They have zero chemistry. He seems more like a one-night stand who stuck around. I'd rather see her hook up with Bobby D.

Barings

In a way, it was kind of true. If Mary had just kept a low profile instead of constantly calling the cops for a black-and-white to go by and confronting Mario at the door, he would likely have left.

The only reason I want Mary not to die is because of the supporting cast (Brandi , Marshall, Stan, Raph) is so strong.

As for Mary herself, I'm kind of sick and tired of her. Like last episode, I think Marshall had a legitimate right to be angry that she revealed her witness protection responsibilities to Raphael, but she acted very smug in relation to his feelings and his right to privacy.

She always has an attitude that's she's better than her family. She really seemed to relish throwing the letter from her father in their faces from earlier in the season.

This sense of superiority even applies to Raphael. He holds his own with her, but she seems to take every opportunity to bash his post-baseball career and decisions as he tried to find himself (even though I agree that being a car salesman and doing cheesy commercials are bad ideas).

Hopefully, getting shot will lower her holier-than-thou attitude , but I get the feeling that it will just be another opportunity to have another "I told you so" moment about how it was a bad idea to move the witness from the mansion.