NCIS: New Orleans

I want to like this show. I've been a Scott Bakula fan since his "Quantum Leap" days. I like love both the original NCIS and NCIS:Los Angeles. Both have excellent casts and storylines. NCIS: New Orleans may develop into a show worthy of the NCIS brand. Or it turn out that third time is not the charm. Some of the basic character types from the first two are present: a strong "parent" figure who leads the team, a dignified yet slightly eccentric pathologist, the "kid" from out of town, the nerd, the town in which the show is set. The writing, at least for the first episode, could be stronger. It was a bit cliche' for my taste. I often knew what was going to be said or how a plot thread would be resolved ahead of time. So far, sadly, my verdict is "meh." I will watch next week and hope for some improvement in the writing and some jelling of the characters and their relationships. That team motif is crucial for an NCIS show. Next week's episode draws in the whole original NCIS team to help the New Orleans bunch battle a plague threat. Hopefully the ensemble comraderie and Abbie's adorable nerdiness will rub off on the New Orleans bunch. Maybe they're a gumbo that just needs to set awhile.

Tyrant season (hopefully not series) ends

"Tyrant" has been one of my favorite new shows of the past few months. This "family" drama set in a fictitious Middle Eastern nation focuses on two brothers in the aftermath of their dictator father's death. The younger brother Jamal Al-Fayeed, played by Israeli actor Ashraf Barhom, is a cruel and unbalanced newly minted president for life. Bassam "Barry" Al-Fayeed, played by Adam Rayner, is a pediatrician who fled his family home decades ago for a new start in America. He is a now a family man whose wife is also a physician. They have two teen-age children. Against his better judgement Barry breaks his 20-year self-exile to attend his nephew's wedding and introduce his American family to their royal counterparts. Barry intends for this to be a quick trip but it does not turn out that way and he soon finds himself embroiled in his home country's politics. The American branch of the Al-Fayeed family settles into palace life, which is not without its perks. The show's creator/writer/director Gideon Raff of "Homeland" fame does not give us a simple "American Barry good; Middle-Eastern dictator Jamal bad" dichotomy. Several episodes in we see that "boy scout Barry" killed a man when he was 9. Granted, he did it to spare his younger brother from having to commit the act. The boys' father had been trying to toughen up Jamal by forcing him to carry out an execution. This event and other parenting tactics traumatized both brothers. It's just more obvious in Jamal's case. Barry thinks Jamal is too "broken" to lead their homeland. It is strongly hinted, though, that Barry is every bit as damaged and dangerous as Jamal. Barry is just better able to hide it, perhaps even from himself. Season One of FX's "Tyrant" just ended on quite a cliffhanger, a showdown between the brothers. I can't wait for Season 2 of this excellent show. But there might not be a Season 2. Apparently the Powers That Be at FX have not decided its fate yet. Please, FX PTB, give us another season of "Tyrant."