Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
“Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.” Bette Davis, All About Eve
In this case, the viewer is prepping for 22 nights – a full season of action and emotion-packed episodes. That’s if you’re able to limit yourself to watching one per day. Just the prospect of advertisement-free programming alone would prompt a fan to opt for the DVD version of this enduring television show.
Such was the situation for this reviewer. The prior year’s boxed set of episodes had been purchased for our viewing with excellent results. The nature of the series, typically involving subtle dialogue and mood lighting when called for by the story line, is best enjoyed without interruption, viewed on equipment that produces crisp images and flawless sound quality. Alas, a cable feed to a good, but not great, television set produces a compromised viewing experience. Even TIVO or a similar recording device requires fast forwarding, which interrupts the flow of the story.
For the sixth season, I set about the task of creating the optimal viewing environment via a 15-inch Retina Display MacBook Pro, Apple USB SuperDrive and Apple EarPods with Remote and Mic. The five-DVD edition features tremendous, headphone-worthy, sound.
The sixth season commences, as have many others, with Patrick quickly solving a baffling crime. This satisfying gambit is followed by the real business at hand, identifying and capturing Red John. While there are some really dumb moves on the part of the ongoing cast, yes, you Teresa Lisbon, for the most part the viewer is brought back into the rhythm of the past years’ story line.
Several of the episodes are truly awesome standouts complete with suspense, deep mystery, and emotionally satisfying interactions among the characters. Along the way Patrick Jane and the CBI team eliminate possible Red John candidates. Justice is served because each in his or her own way is a despicable person.
Viewers familiar with California’s scenic coastline may be confounded by the rapidity with which the CBI team travels up and down the state. Although it is possible to traverse from Sacramento to Malibu in part of a day, the trip in Patrick’s vintage Citroen felt suspiciously short! At other times the locations labeled are clearly nowhere close to being accurate. Yes, this has always been a shortcoming of the series but one can nevertheless hope for improvements in the future. One nod toward accuracy is the display of actual skyline scenes of downtown Sacramento.
Perhaps it is the fact that I took on the review assignment, that led me to read the episode pamphlet in detail; something I’ve never before done. I found it fascinating that the tone and pace of the episodes varied significantly with the writers and directors. There were stand-alone episodes and multi-episode story lines, along with more than adequate emotional hemming and hawing on the part of several of the characters (no spoilers here).
Lastly, the nature of the series remained intact regardless of shifts in locale and the addition of several new ongoing plot threads. Purists will surely appreciate the payoff associated with delayed gratification required while they waited to purchase the complete sixth season boxed set. It takes just 15 hours and 27 minutes of viewing for satisfaction to truly set in.
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