Rookie Blue Returns

Is Rookie Blue really already in season three? It seems like it was only yesterday that Andy was a new recruit!

Season three starts with Andy literally taking a major jump back into her life. The first scene opens with Andy planning to go skydiving , then almost bailing out until she gets the call that the tribunal to get her job back has finally been scheduled. With that news - Andy flings herself out of the plane and we know she's back on the force and and the tribunal will just be a formality.

Actually, all of the gang is back although in this episode they were all just mostly supporting characters. The real story was Andy coming back on the force, the introduction of Nick (more on him in a minute) and a guest starring appearance by William Shatner who plays an interesting fellow named"Henry."

Although I expected William Shatner to have a bigger part in this episode, he was actually only in a few scenes. Arrested for DUI after causing an accident, Noelle realizes Henry is actually the grandfather of a missing girl from a case that she worked years ago. Upon questioning Henry, she discovers that he was pursuing a van after he saw his granddaughter get into the back of it. This fits together with the fact that at the accident scene, Andy (who was picked up by Sam at the airport and isn't officially on duty), helps a girl get out of a burning van. When she takes Sam over to see her, however, the girl is gone.

Meanwhile, there is a new guy on the team. Peter Mooney joins the cast as Nick Collins, the new rookie with a military background. Although Nick's storyline is a little sketchy (as of yet), we do learn two things. He has a hero complex (noted after he jumps 40 feet into the water to apprehend a suspect) and he was once engaged to Gail. While we don't get to learn exactly what happened between Nick and Gail, it is quite apparent that Gail is not happy to see him.

The episode winds to a close with Henry reunited with his granddaughter. Andy getting her job back (of course) and Sam deciding to forgive Andy for staying away from him for three months even though she promised to give them a shot at a normal relationship.

With Andy and Sam together, will season three of Rookie Blue still manage to be summer's guilty pleasure? We can only hope so.

TV Review: Common Law

USA Network rolled out its newest series "Common Law" this past Friday. This show takes the place of the recently departed "In Plain Sight."

Although it might be a bit of a stretch, there was a vague feeling of familiarity between the love/hate "Common Law" banter of Wes and Travis (Warren Kole and Michael Ealy) and  the"In Plain Sight" dialogue between Mary and Marshall (Mary McCormack and Frederick Weller).

The big difference, of course, is that Wes and Travis are cops and Mary and Marshall are Federal Agents. No...wait...that's not right....The difference is that Wes and Travis are in 'couples therapy' and Mary and Marshall were able to work out their differences without physically fighting or drawing their weapons on each other. At the end of the day, however, both couples  partners are able to work as a team when it matters and that is usually when they are solving the case.

In truth, Common Law is not bad for Friday night television. There is some witty banner, the 'bromance' works and the two are kind of like the old time Oscar and Felix from "The Odd Couple," but much, much better looking.

I won't give away much about the storyline because you still have several opportunities to catch this first episode. Basically, without giving away spoilers, it was just the standard throw-a-way plot where we meet the characters and some things happen and at the end of the day the heroes win and the bad guys lose. Only at times --- the show was quite funny.

The big question: Will I be watching? Yes! This fish has set her DVR list up for weekly recordings. I feel like once the characters are a little more fleshed-out, USA network should have another summertime hit on its hands!