An old PI novel from the 20s and 30s. While not a bad story in the least, it is not something I would have read save for its association with Moonlight.

Mick is hired by a stripper and charged with finding her younger sister, who has run away. As he searches for the missing girl he remembers his past which is quite a bit different than the show. Yes Mick and Coraline were a torrid couple and she turned him but they were also druggies, who ended up in the middle of a homicide rap. It was a train wreck… though not even a very romantic train wreck. And I really like the Coraline from the show.

Anyway the case Mick is working quickly evolves from a simple missing girl case to one involving drug dealers and vampires and it gets a tad personal and tied up in his past. I did not think it predictable and it has its clever moments. It just didn’t “feel” like Moonlight. It was an interesting look into the starting point of a good story though.

If you are wondering how Beth figures in… well she really doesn’t. She is briefly mentioned as a girl he saved from Coraline’s clutches and writers for the show ran with that tidbit. Perhaps Mr. Munson will decide to write more books and share more of their story but if you are imaging this book to be the companion novel to the show then you will be disappointed. It is a book that “loosely” inspired the show.

This was a nail biter and chock full of HOT guys… just sayin. It begins with Danno and Steve making a beeline for Chin Ho who apparently was abducted and woke in a public square with a bomb around his neck. The bomb will explode if he moves from the area and a cell phone with instructions for Steve rings…

Then of course we flashback to earlier. They are investigating the body dump of an arms dealer. They are afraid that they must be dealing with a much bigger criminal boss or a guy with absolutely no fear. A video shows their guy and it is none other than Victor Hess, the man who killed Steve’s father. Thus begins the chase…

They track down the doctor that treated Hess after Steve shot him only to find that Hess killed the good doctor after he was feeling better. But they get a new lead on guy who could have helped Victor hide out and get new papers. They are able to find out where Victor’s condo is but of course he isn’t there. Steve lucks out though in a club where Victor literally walks past him. A chase ensues.

Chin Ho tries to intercept them on his bike but the bad guys get the drop on him and now we are in present time with Chin Ho attached to a bomb. Hess calls and demands 10 million dollars and safe passage off the island but the Governor refuses to pony up the dough. The remaining 5-0 team members have to get creative and they raid a stash of cold case drug money from a police locker. Afterwards Steve and Kono proceed to the drop.

Victor takes the money but throws it in the fire intending to kill Chin Ho anyway. Steve and Victor fight and some amazing acrobatics on Steve’s part are seen. He manages to subdue Hess and deactivate the remote. They let a bad guy get away but they caught another. They also stole 10 million in drug money with no idea how they can replace it so they have a big axe hanging over their heads.

The episode ends with the 5-0 team spending Christmas together along with Danno’s daughter Grace. So cute! Hess also gets a visit for x-mas and we finally meet Wo Fat!! He asks Hess how close Steve is to the truth about what his father was investigating and Hess says that he is too close… which does not bode well for Steve.

Wahoo.. many of my faves all in one episode… Alex, James (Hess), and Mark (Wo Fat). Hawaii Five-O is one HOT show!

This episode begins in Kahana State Park with two hunters trying to hunt down a wild boar. Just as they are about to shoot their target a young woman comes running from the jungle crying and screaming for help.

Meanwhile Chin Ho and Steve are fishing together and trading stories about Steve’s dad. Steve decides to share the secrets of the CHAMP box with Chin Ho to see if he can help with a number he found on the back of a photo. Chin Ho recognizes it as an old case file numbering system they used before they went digital. They get a call from Kono about the woman (Erica) found running in the jungle with her nightie on. She is a woman here on her Honeymoon and doesn’t remember how she ended up in the jungle or if she was abducted. Her new husband is nowhere to be found.

She remembers taking a long walk on the beach with her husband and then going back to the room with him and going to sleep. She woke up on the cold floor in a room. She was bound but somehow got out and ran. Danno decides they need to back off questioning Eric to avoid traumatizing her. Her Mother-in-law has just flown in from San Francisco and starts causing a commotion in the hallway. She tells Steve that if if her son (Jake) is missing then Erica probably had something to do with it. This obviously raises suspicions. The MIL tells them that her son married this woman after only 6 months of acquaintance and he refused to sign a prenuptial agreement despite his wealth. Erica has a huge amount of debt and she works off jobs and bounces around. She took a temp job at a law firm and 6 months later managed to marry its senior partner.

The 5-0 team discovers that Erica called a local hotel 5 times before their abduction but she swears it must have been her husband. They go to the hotel and find lots of pictures of the married couple. The room owner interrupts them and tells them he is an investigator. He was hired by the MIL and he followed them for a week until Jake spotted him. He was also convinced that Erica did in fact love her husband.

Chin Ho and Kono find evidence that acetone gas was piped into the couple’s room via the adjacent room. They enter that room and find Jake’s body lying in the bed, apparently strangled. Steve breaks the news to Erica.

Meanwhile Chin Ho and Kono get a lead from the coroner who remembers other cases where newlywed couples were abducted, the men were strangled, and the women were later found mutilated and discarded in remote wilderness. Chin Ho researches this lead and finds that 3 couples were murdered over 7 days in a tropical locales not far away so they are dealing with a serial killer.

Thanks to the investigator’s photos Kono finds a strange man in the background of 3 of the photos, all taken in different places at different times. The team knows they have to be looking at the killer as he stalked the couple. They also find the place where he held Erica with surgical tools and a bottle of morphine. Kono tracks the bottle and finds it was stolen off of a cruise ship. This leads them to believe the killer is traveling by cruise ship and  when they look at passenger manifests they find their guy. Steve asks Kono to hold up the cruise ship’s departure as it was set to leave in an hour. Steve and Danno dress down to look like tourists and go aboard the ship. Their man is not in his room so they enlist the help of the crew to search the ship.

They corner the suspect but he appears to have jumped off the ship. Steve does not believe that this guy will lay low. Instead he will move on to another target, which turns out to be accurate. Steve and Danno have a lead on who he may go after though. They spot the suspect leaving a hotel parking garage with a female victim and they pursue him. They end up managing to save the victim and the killer, who was injured by Steve, jumps off a cliff.

At the episodes end Chin Ho tells Steve that he pursued the weird case file and finds out it was lost or stolen because it isn’t there anymore. BUT he does tell Steve the day it was opened and that day coincides with the day Steve’s mother was killed in a car accident. Except it wasn’t actually an accident, it was a homicide.

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This was an awesome episode in my opinion. I was actually hooked on the story and the tidbits with Steve’s parents were really intriguing. Can’t wait for more!

Oh and of course you noticed another person from Moonlight in this episode right? Last episode a vampire reference and now a guest who used to be on the show…

What a fun night! The premiere of the new Hawaii Five-0!

All in all I thought the pilot was very solid and entertaining. It didn’t knock my socks off but most pilots usually don’t. They are usually filmed in a hurry, with a limited budget, and the actors haven’t gotten used to each other yet. But I still found the pilot to be a darn good run and I look forward to more.

The story in the pilot episode revolved around the audience meeting the “team”. Steve McGarrett is part of an operation to bring down an arms ring and when he captures the brother of his nemesis, Victor Hess, his father is captured and used as a bargaining chip. Steve finds himself in a  tough position of kill or be killed and he has to fire on Hess’s brother. In retaliation Hess kills the elder McGarrett.

Steve returns to his home state of Hawaii for his father’s funeral and he is immediately hit up by the state’s governor, who wants him to head off a new task force. His initial answer is a resounding no but when he starts investigating his father’s murder he discovers that his father (who was a police officer) had a few secrets that he left for his son to discover. Feeling the need to resolve his father’s unfinished business, McGarrett decides to head up the task force after all. He chooses a newbie police officer named Danny Williams to be his partner. Their relationship is strained at best and provides us with some very comic moments.

McGarrett also adds to his new team a disgraced officer and friend of his father named Chin Ho and new and very pretty cadette named Kono. Together they discover that Hess made his way to Hawaii via human smugglers and that he will exit the same way. They manage to pin Hess down on a barge and McGarrett shoots him. We do not see Hess’s body which of course leads us to believe that it is not the last we will see of McGarrett’s nemesis.

My favorite part of the show had to be Danno’s ringtone for his ex-wife… the theme from Psycho. I laughed so hard. I think I am going to like the Hawaii Five-0 team and the bromance between Steve and Danno. And Victor Hess.. yowsa what a bad ass! Go Spike… uh I mean, Victor. This show seems like it has some winning elements so I will definitely stayed tuned for more.

And I am not alone… the number of people following AOLO on Twitter has exploded since last night. And quite a few new fans on Facebook. I think we have some new Alex fans!

This is a full recap and review so there are spoilers galore. Avert your eyes NOW if you do not want a blow by blow of this episode!

Another awesome episode. Tears and serious laughter abounded.

This followed the stories of a police detective rushed to TR with chest pains, who also happens to be the partner of Dr. Andy’s wife, Rena. A cheating husband is mowed down by a truck as he tries to escape detection by his wife and he ends up being a liver donor. Mr. Boyle at Three Rivers is in serious liver failure with only days to live. He also happens to be the least favorite patient of the staff with his rude remarks and racial slurs.

In Alone Together we finally get to meet Dr. Andy’s wife and it is apparent quickly why they are having issues. They both have high stress and time intensive jobs… surgeon and cop. We get to see Dr. Andy’s love and concern for Rena as she comes into the hospital with her partner. Due to Andy’s quick thinking they prevent the man from bleeding out on the table and Dr. Andy does a quick procedure to graft a rupturing artery. When that works for only a short time he then has to go back into the ER to open his chest and suture the artery. Rena is incredibly proud of Andy and in love with him, she admits to partner’s soon-to-be wife but love might not be enough to salvage their marriage.

Dr. Foster goes to West Virginia to procure a liver only to find that they have to land on a high school football field with no ambulance waiting and a gate blocking their way. The sprinklers turn on the soak them as they scale the chain link fence. When they get to the hospital their bad luck continues as they find that the liver has been offered to another man at the same hospital where the liver is. The attending surgeon there refuses to wait for the issue to be cleared up and attempts to procure the organ for his patient immediately. Dr. Foster tries to physically block him from the operating room. Hospital staff try to pull her out of the way and she shakes them off only to accidentally hit the surgeon in his nose, breaking it. Dr. Foster is carted away by security. Later they resolve the issue and Dr. Foster is told the heart is hers.

Dr. Lee has the unfortunate job of prepping the recipient patient, Mr. Boyle, who makes remarks about Dr. Lee’s heritage, skin color, and affluent lifestyle. Finally after much needling Dr. Lee retorts that Mr. Boyle has no flowers in his room and that if her were nicer to people that might have been different. Mr. Boyle is outraged and relates to Dr. Lee that he spent 15 years with his gay lover only to be refused access to him in his dying days (AIDS).

Later on Dr. Jordon visits him to ask him to hang in there while they wait for the liver and Dr. Boyle expresses his sadness that his previous doctor (Miranda’s Dad) died. Dr. Jordan gets emotional herself and tears up as she speaks very highly of the late Dr. Foster.

In the operating room while under sedation Mr. Boyle announces to the operating staff that Dr. Jordan and the late Dr. Foster were lovers. The staff is speechless but Dr. Jordan reminds them that he is incoherent because he is sedated. It was a very funny moment!

Dr. Andy talks to his wife outside as the day closes and she has determined that marriage counseling won’t work for them (Andy asked her about it earlier that day). She insists that they both spend too much time working and that their work is the more important thing. She tells Andy he is a rockstar. Andy asks if she wants out because he wants children and she responds by saying that she doesn’t want to have kids they will both ignore but admits that she may be up to having kids with someone else if that man was up to meeting her demands. Andy is sad and a bit speechless after that.

Mr. Boyle wakes up with Dr. Lee sitting at his bedside informing him that the surgery was a success. Mr. Boyle see white orchids on the table next to his bed and Dr. Lee admits that they are from him. Mr. Boyle starts crying and tells Dr. Lee he greatly underestimated him. It was such a touching moment… one of my favorites this season.

Dr. Andy gets woken up by the young African heart transplant patient we met in episode 1. He stole Andy’s hotel room key earlier that day and he sneaks into his room to play Guitar Hero. At first Andy is angry and insists he leave but when the young man explains that he doesn’t want to be alone, Andy rubs his eyes awake and grabs the guitar saying he is going to show him how it is done. The scene closes as the two play the game and Dr. Andy is smiling in amazement and joking that that the game is so fun it should stay in his room  or else there might be no heart transplant. It was such a fun, goofy, great moment!

So what did you think?

This is a full recap and review so there are spoilers galore. Avert your eyes NOW if you do not want a blow by blow of this episode!

My initial impression of this episode: Wow! I really liked it, much more than episode 1 in fact and since Ryan’s First Day WAS technically the first eppy I am not sure why they premiered with Place of Life instead. This episode had background story and it had plenty of drama. I loved the witty banter between the docs and their patients as well as with each other. It shows how much they like each other and how much they care for their patients.

In this episode we follow the stories of a young man killed in a car accident, an 18 year old girl who needs a double lung transplant, an ex football player who needs a double bypass, and a father who needs a new kidney. Of course all the cases are fraught with drama. The young man killed in an accident will be the one to give life to the kidney and lung patients at Three Rivers but this is complicated when the police decide to take possession of his body in a  murder investigation. It is heartbreaking for the mom of this young man to realize that he wasn’t the “good boy” she always thought he was.

The 18 year old girl who needs new lungs is unfortunately not able to be placed on the donor waiting list because she had cancer less than 5 years previous. It is only because a questionable set of lungs that no else has a need for become available that she has a chance.

The father who needs a kidney is ready to get his life back after 5 years of dialysis, during which he lost a lot of time with his daughters.

The ex football player is doubtful he will ever get to reconcile with his son, whose life he was never a part of while he played football and wined and dined women.

In this eppy we also learn that Dr. Andy (Alex) is staying in a hotel attached to the hospital, since he and his wife are having problems. He insists that they will work it out and he will eventually move back into their home. Next week we get to meet his wife! Meanwhile I am digging the chemistry he has with the pretty ER doctor.

Miranda Foster has another soul searching episode as the death of one her patients hits her hard and reminds her that she was not speaking to her Dad when he died.

The episode ends with Dr. Andy telling her they need to take their wins that day and feel good about those. He, Miranda, and Dr. Lee look out over the rivers and shoot the breeze as the scenes closes.

I am not sure what other fans will feel but I personally think this was one stellar showing…

The line about Alex having chemistry with a doorknob is just a funny one I read over in the comments section of the Latina blog. It seems a good number of Alex fans are popping up over there to protest Alex being called “What’s His Name”. It was also implied that casting JLo with Alex was a sure fire way to sabotage JLo’s career. That had me a little hot under the collar since I am of the opinion that Alex is the best thing about this new movie that will be called The Backup Plan. If Alex can drum up chemistry with a door knob all I can say  is “Well, let’s hope so.”

I think Alex fans know that Alex has had rockin chemistry with his other female costars. He brings out the best in them. It got me thinking about my favorite Alex co-star and it may surprise you that it is not “Beth” aka Sophia Myles. Who did you like Alex with? Here are some possibilities:

Will and Mary (Alex & Romola Garai)  – They played husband and wife in The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant and I really liked this pairing because we got to see the fatherly, caregiver, provider side of Alex. Right from the beginning he sees something special in Mary, even though she is pregnant with another man’s child. When they get to the penal colony they team up to take care of each other and they get married. Will acts as though he doesn’t want to get married but it was a little too easy to talk him into it. Will raises Mary’s oldest daughter as his own and he even allows Mary to take up with another man (an officer) so that they can escape. He loves her so much that he allows her to betray him in that fashion. Lucky for Will, Mary knows she has a keeper and their love story was one of the most touching ones I have seen on screen.

Mick and Beth (Alex & Sophia Myles) of Moonlight- This is the romance most will think when they think of Alex. He is the sexy vampire PI and she is a curious reporter. They have a history since he saved her life when she was little and he felt protective of her ever since. Despite having amazing chemistry they can’t seem to commit to their feelings for each other, always letting other people or extenuating circumstances get in their way. They also have the immortal versus mortal conundrum to face but one thing is for sure. They could be and would be totally devoted to each other if they made that leap. In many ways Mick seemed younger and more vulnerable with Beth. He was sometimes awkward and unsure of himself when around her…like the first love of a teenager. It was adorable and heart warming at the same time.

Mick and Coraline – (Alex and Shannyn Sossaman) of Moonlight - This is actually my favorite pairing. I realize that may rub some MickBeth fans the wrong way, LOL. I love Coraline and Mick together! I love the heat and the total reckless abandon they have when together. Of course that type of love may be big trouble but it is incredibly fun to watch. Some of my favorite moments on the entire show where when they kissed. I know that Mick didn’t want to kiss Coraline but he couldn’t help himself…he was so drawn to her in some sort of primitive animalistic desire.

I was actually kind of disappointed in Mick’s character when he allowed Coraline to be abducted by her brother and not go after her. She sacrificed herself to save him and he kinda said “Oh well”. I was hoping for more of Mick and Coraline in future seasons.

So who do you think Alex had the best chemistry with?

Wahoo! Finally we get an Alex fix! The Big Wheel delivers! Here is a play by play. If you haven’t see it yet you may not want to read.

The episode started out in true creepy fashion. We see the un-sub Vincent (Alex) preparing for and then engaging in a murder. He wears long johns as he gets up, gets dressed, brushes his teeth, and and eats. I am not a fan of the long johns look but hey, I guess “Vincent” likes them. He is meticulous in keeping things clean and he opens each door twice in OCD fashion. He also has rituals for certain things like putting on his shoes.

After getting ready he walks down a residential street (avoiding cracks) and stops at a home where a realtor is getting ready to show a house. Vincent walks in the home, tells her his name is not Robert (the man she was expecting), he makes an eery clicking sound with his teeth and then he stabs her, either through the lungs or heart, and watches her as she dies. The clicking sound is repeated through much of the show.

Next we see that he has recorded this event with a hidden camera (in his glasses) which he sends to the police. He writes “help me” with read marker as an appeal to the police to stop him and indicates that his next kill will be on the 29th which is one day after the BAU gets involved. They also determine that that he is a serial killer who kills roughly every 12 months. The victims are usually young and blond.

While the BAU is tracking him down, Vincent has an unexpected guest show up at his home. The woman, Allison, knows him from somewhere, work maybe? She asks him to do some film work, which he refuses to do. He also asks her to leave. While she is there though she stops in front of the TV where a press conference is on with details of the serial killings. She notices how the police drawing looks like Vincent and tells him this. He locks the door and turns around, saying he needs to change glasses.

In the next scene we see that he has killed her and dumped her body. The BAU team preps for another killing as they correctly figure that Allison’s murder was not planned. Meanwhile, Vincent appears to target his next victim and works to avoid the police as they narrow in on the clues. The decide to talk to the blind son of one of earlier victims, who witnessed the killing. Vincent talked to the same boy earlier in the day and promised he would “come by” later.

Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS ©2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Vincent is walking down an alley (to get away from police canvassing the area) and he encounters two thugs who interrogate him. Vincent tries to get away without trouble but when one shows him a gun, Vincent stabs him in the stomach. He then turns around to look at the other guy. The look he gives him was CHILLING! Ooooh goosebumps!

After the commercial we see Vincent back in his home. One of the thugs shot him and he stuffs rolled up bread balls in his wounds (uh gross!) and then wraps Saran Wrap around his waste to cover the wounds. He also stops for a moment to watch a video that frequently plays in his apartment. It is a video he shot when he was a child of his mother being stabbed.

Vincent goes to pick up the blind boy (whose mom Vincent killed) and they drive away. Vincent tells the boy (Stanley) in a round about way that he would never hurt him and Stanley tells Vincent he wishes that the man who killed his mother had killed him too. Vincent is disturbed by this.

The BAU deduces that Vincent may have taken the boy to ride on a Ferris Wheel nearby. Stanley and a very weak Vincent get on The Ferris Wheel and start to ride. Vincent tells Stanley that he must never wish to die and that he is very special becuase he helped him see that what he was doing was wrong.

Suddenly the fact that he started out killing and stabbing 30 times and and regressed into a single stab wound makes sense. When he killed Stanley’s mom and realized she was a mother with a son that was the age Vincent was when he witnessed him mom’s death, he began to feel remorse for what he was doing. He couldn’t stop but he wanted to and that is why he sent the video mesage to the police.

Vincent dies on the Ferris Wheel while holding Stanley hand and asking for forgiveness. It was very touching actually. I really felt empathy for this sicko serial killer so Alex did his job superbly. I wanted to hug the serial killer AND the kid! It was amazing. And the name The Big Wheel suddenly makes sense as well.

Very eery, very complicated, and very well done. Alex’s talent knows no bounds.

So what did YOU think?